Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41998354›Full record

ArticleInflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.]2026

Imiquimod enhances anti-tumor effects of CD47 targeting in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Hongzhi He, Yu Hao, Jing Chen, Biao Ren, Xin Zheng, Xu Cao, Bolei Li, Lei Cheng

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Article in Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.], 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Hongzhi HeState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yu HaoState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Jing ChenState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Biao RenState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xin ZhengState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xu CaoShanghai Frontiers Science Center for Drug Target Identification and Delivery, and the Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody of the Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Bolei LiState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. libolei7@scu.edu.cn.
Lei ChengState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. chenglei@scu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Funds 82203008Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province 2024NSFSC1920the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities RD-02-202405the Research and Develop Program, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University RD-02-202405the Research and Develop Program, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University RD-03-202308the Sichuan University Postdoctoral Interdisciplinary Innovation Fund JCXK2201
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesRegarding the limited clinical curative efficacy of CD47-targeted immunotherapy in treating oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the project aims to study the effect and mechanism of imiquimod-enhanced CD47 targeting in treating OSCC.

methodsThe effect of imiquimod on enhancing the phagocytosis and clearance of OSCC cells of CD47 targeting was studied through phagocytosis experiments and cell clearance experiments. Then, the safety of the local application of imiquimod was confirmed, and the effect of imiquimod was verified in vivo by immunohistochemistry staining and tumor growth analysis. Finally, transcriptome sequencing, macrophage polarization, phagocytosis experiments, and cell clearance experiments were used to study the mechanism of imiquimod-enhanced CD47 targeting for treating OSCC.

resultsImiquimod significantly enhances the phagocytosis and removal of OSCC cells when combined with CD47 targeting. In vivo studies have confirmed its capacity to potentiate CD47 targeting and revealed good biosafety of imiquimod. Mechanistically, imiquimod promotes M1 macrophage polarization by activating the Toll-like receptor (TLR)7-nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway in macrophages. This activation enhanced the phagocytic capacity of macrophages to effectively remove OSCC cells.

conclusionsImiquimod enhances CD47 targeting in phagocytosing and removing OSCC cells by activating macrophage TLR7-NF-κB activation and subsequent M1 polarization, providing a promising approach for treating OSCC.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsCarcinoma, Squamous CellCD47 AntigenImiquimodMouth NeoplasmsAnimalsCell Line, TumorHumansMacrophagesMiceNF-kappa BPhagocytosisToll-Like Receptor 7Toll-Like Receptor AgonistsAntineoplastic AgentsCD47 AntigenCD47 protein, humanImiquimodNF-kappa BTLR7 protein, humanToll-Like Receptor 7Toll-Like Receptor AgonistsImiquimodImmunotherapyMacrophagesNF-kappa BPhagocytosisSquamous cell carcinoma

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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.