The Role of TIM-3 in Glioblastoma Progression

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 5; p. 346
• Main Authors: Ahmady, Farah, Sharma, Amit, Achuthan, Adrian A., Kannourakis, George, Luwor, Rodney B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.02.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; B cells; Biology; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - immunology; Brain Neoplasms - metabolism; Brain Neoplasms - pathology; Cancer therapies; Cell activation; CTLA-4 protein; Cytokines; Datasets; Development and progression; Disease Progression; Gene amplification; Gene expression; Glioblastoma; Glioblastoma - genetics; Glioblastoma - immunology; Glioblastoma - metabolism; Glioblastoma - pathology; Glioblastoma multiforme; Glioma; Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2 - metabolism; Humans; Immune checkpoint; Immunoregulation; Immunosuppression; Immunotherapy; Ligands; Liu, Timothy; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Medical prognosis; Nervous system; PD-1 protein; Prognosis; Protein expression; Proteins; Radiation therapy; Review; Survival analysis; T cell receptors; T cells; TIM-3; Australia; TIM-3; immunosuppression; glioblastoma
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells14050346

Several immunoregulatory or immune checkpoint receptors including T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) have been implicated in glioblastoma progression. Rigorous investigation over the last decade has elucidated TIM-3 as a key player in inhibiting immune cell activation and several key associated molecules have been identified both upstream and downstream that mediate immune cell dysfunction mechanistically. However, despite several reviews being published on other immune checkpoint molecules such as PD-1 and CTLA-4 in the glioblastoma setting, no such extensive review exists that specifically focuses on the role of TIM-3 in glioblastoma progression and immunosuppression. Here, we critically summarize the current literature regarding TIM-3 expression as a prognostic marker for glioblastoma, its expression profile on immune cells in glioblastoma patients and the exploration of anti-TIM-3 agents in glioblastoma pre-clinical models for potential clinical application.