cells Review Tumour Hypoxia-Mediated Immunosuppression: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches to Improve Cancer Immunotherapy Zhe Fu 1,2, Alexandra M. Mowday 2,3 , Jeff B. Smaill 2,3, Ian F. Hermans 1,2 and Adam V. Patterson 2,3,* 1 Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Wellington 6042, New Zealand;
[email protected] (Z.F.);
[email protected] (I.F.H.) 2 Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
[email protected] (A.M.M.);
[email protected] (J.B.S.) 3 Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The magnitude of the host immune response can be regulated by either stimulatory or inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules. Receptor-ligand binding between inhibitory molecules is often exploited by tumours to suppress anti-tumour immune responses. Immune checkpoint inhibitors that block these inhibitory interactions can relieve T-cells from negative regulation, and have yielded remarkable activity in the clinic. Despite this success, clinical data reveal that durable responses are limited to a minority of patients and malignancies, indicating the presence of underlying resistance mechanisms. Accumulating evidence suggests that tumour hypoxia, a pervasive feature of many solid cancers, is a critical phenomenon involved in suppressing the anti-tumour immune Citation: Fu, Z.; Mowday, A.M.; response generated by checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms associated Smaill, J.B.; Hermans, I.F.; Patterson, with hypoxia-mediate immunosuppression and focus on modulating tumour hypoxia as an approach A.V.