FIGURE 1.

Immune microenvironment in HCC. A detailed description of cell populations in the HCC microenvironment and their interaction with cancer cells. Migration of antigen-harboring DCs in draining lymph nodes results in T-cell lymphocyte activation (known as priming), which, in turn, migrates to the tumor site and induces cell-mediated killing. The interaction between activated TCLA and cancer cells is shown along with main immune checkpoints and corresponding inhibitory drugs. Abbreviations: CTLA-4, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4; DC, dendritic cell; FB, fibroblast; MC, monocytic cell; MHC, major histocompatibility complex; NK, natural killer; PD-1, programmed death 1; PD-L1, programmed death ligand 1; TC, tumor cell; TCL, T-cell lymphocyte; TCLA, T-cell lymphocyte activated; TCR, T-cell receptor. Created with BioRender.com.