Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41181090›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2025

Microbial metabolite-driven immune reprogramming in tumor immunotherapy: mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.

Yao Lu, Huiping Yuan, Shaojie Liang, Debing Li, Pengfei Jiang, Xian Wang, Ke Zhang, Dechun Liu

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed.

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  5. Microbiome-guided cancer immunotherapy: immune mechanisms, resistance pathways, and translational opportunities for precision oncology.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yao LuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Huiping YuanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Shaojie LiangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Debing LiDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Pengfei JiangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Xian WangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Ke ZhangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Dechun LiuDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The gut microbiome critically regulates antitumor immunity through its metabolic byproducts, which serve as pivotal mediators of host-microbe crosstalk in tumor immunotherapy. This review synthesizes cutting-edge evidence on how microbial metabolites-including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), tryptophan derivatives, and bile acids-reprogram immune cell dynamics and remodel the tumor microenvironment (TME). Mechanistically, metabolites such as butyrate and indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) enhance immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy by epigenetic modulation or metabolic reprogramming. Conversely, kynurenine (a tryptophan metabolite) and secondary bile acids drive resistance by polarizing macrophages toward an immunosuppressive phenotype or exhausting cytotoxic T cells. Metabolite-targeted interventions (such as probiotics, dietary modulation, and engineered microbes) show synergistic potential with ICIs, but require resolution of causal inference limitations, interindividual variability, tumor-context specificity, and dose optimization. Precision microbiome engineering, guided by multi-omics profiling and artificial intelligence, may unlock personalized strategies to overcome immunotherapy resistance.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeImmunotherapyNeoplasmsAnimalsBile Acids and SaltsCellular ReprogrammingFatty Acids, VolatileHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsTryptophanTumor MicroenvironmentBile Acids and SaltsFatty Acids, VolatileImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsTryptophanimmune checkpoint inhibitorsimmune regulationimmunotherapy resistancemicrobial metabolitestumor immunotherapytumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41181090
PMCPMC12575249

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.