Figure 4.

Roles of LILRBs in digestive, respiratory and reproductive cancers. (A) Expression patterns and functional roles of LILRBs in esophageal carcinoma (EC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gastric cancer (GC), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and colorectal cancer (CRC). The diagrams illustrate their distribution and functions in tumor cells (left) and immune cells (right). In HCC and CRC, LILRB2 regulates proliferation, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and angiogenesis through the ROS/ERK, AKT/ERK, and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways. In CRC, LILRB3 promotes immune escape by modulating the spatial distribution of CD8+ T cells and M2-type tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) within the tumor microenvironment. (B) In NSCLC, LILRB2 regulates tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, and influences the immune microenvironment through the ERK, SHP2-CaMK1, JAK-STAT3, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways, thereby promoting tumor progression. Additionally, LILRB2 expression is regulated by EGFR and cGAS-STING pathways. LILRB4 promotes EMT and angiogenesis in NSCLC by activating ERK pathway. In MDSCs, LILRB4 enhances MDSC-mediated tumor metastasis by regulating M2-type macrophage polarization and suppressing the secretion of miR-1 family miRNAs. (C-E) LILRB expression patterns in (C) breast cancer, (D) ovarian cancer, and (E) endometrial cancer, along with their key downstream signaling pathways.