Figure 1. Tumor extrinsic mechanisms in Glioblastoma tumor microenvironment mediated by non-immune cells.
Non-immune cells contribute to the immunosuppressive environment of the GBM TME in the following ways. 1. Although it is disrupted the blood brain barrier remains selectively permeable to both effector cells, and therapeutics. 2. Astrocytes are a source of pro-tumor factors which support the growth and metastatic capability of tumor cells. 3. Neurons support tumor cell proliferation via secretion of NLGN3. Redrawn from an illustration by Megan Llewellyn, MSMI, CMI; copyright Duke University; with permission under a CC-BY 4.0 license.