Tumor DDR1 acts as a key factor during the desmoplastic response surrounding hepatic colorectal metastasis. Hepatic sinusoidal cell-derived soluble factors stimulate tumor DDR1 activation. DDR1 modulates matrix remodeling to promote metastasis in the liver through the interaction with hepatic stromal cells, specifically liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatic stellate cells.

Discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) is arising as a promising therapeutic target in breast carcinoma (BC). The ability of DDR2 to bind to collagen promotes protumoral responses in cancer cells that influence the tumor microenvironment (TME). Nonetheless, the interrelation between DDR2 expression and TME modulation during BC progression remains poorly known. For this reason, we aim to evaluate the correlation between intratumoral expression of DDR2 and the infiltration of the main TME cell populations, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). First, collagen and DDR2 expression levels were analyzed in human invasive BC samples. Then, DDR2 status correlation with tumor aggressiveness and patient survival were retrieved from different databases. Subsequently, the main pathways, cell types, and tissues correlated with DDR2 expression in BC were obtained through bioinformatics approach. Finally, we studied the association of DDR2 expression with the recruitment of CAFs and TAMs. Our findings showed that, together with the expected overexpression of TME markers, DDR2 was upregulated in tumor samples. Besides, we uncovered that altered TME markers were linked to DDR2 expression in invasive BC patients. Consequently, DDR2 modulates the stromal reaction through CAFs and TAMs infiltration and could be used as a potential worse prognostic factor in the treatment response of invasive BC.

Among adoptive cell-based immunotherapies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy has shown promising results in cancer treatment. Treatment with CAR-T cells has produced remarkable clinical responses, especially in cases of relapsed and refractory leukemia and lymphoma. However, CAR-T cell therapy still presents several limitations, including some safety concerns related to neurotoxicity and aggressive inflammatory responses. As an alternative to T-cells, natural killer (NK) cells have been developed as an attractive option for efficient cancer immunotherapy. As they do not express T cell receptor (TCR), NK cell-based therapies are not associated with cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or graft versus host disease (GvHD), which enables a safer therapy and the ability to generate an allogeneic "off-the-shelf" product. Despite the innate cytotoxic activity of NK cells against malignant cells, the therapeutic application of unmodified NK cells has been compromised by the inhibitory tumor microenvironment (TME), which is responsible for poor cell expansion, inactivation, insufficient tumor infiltration, and limited in vivo persistence, leading to the dysfunction of NK cells after infusion. Advances in the genetic modification of NK cells can address some of these limitations and improve their therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we describe the advances in the development of engineered NK cells for cancer immunotherapy. As such, we provide an overview of recent viral and non-viral approaches for the genetic modification of NK cells. We also discuss their current clinical status in the field of immunotherapy, and their use in other clinical applications.

Bioresorbable nanopatterned scaffolds functionalized with polydopamine (PDA) and graphene oxide (GO) have been shown to promote the differentiation of murine neural stem cells (mNSCs) toward neural and glial lineages. Herein, we aim to evaluate the compatibility of these scaffolds for the culture and differentiation of both human embryonic (hESCs) and induced pluripotent (hiPSCs) stem cells. Our results indicate that PDA and GO scaffolds support the topographic alignment of hESCs and hiPSCs cultures, while preserving their pluripotency characteristics. Upon differentiation, PDA and GO scaffolds guide cell specification toward the neuroectoderm germ layer and the neural crest. This promotes enhanced differentiation into both neural and supportive glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS), as well as Schwann cells of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Moreover, nanopatterned scaffolds also support the differentiation of hESCs and hiPSCs toward endothelial precursors. These findings establish a novel culture platform that enables combined differentiation pathways, potentially relevant for applications in personalized medicine and regenerative cell therapy.