Macrophage-derived long non-coding RNAs in cancer: pioneering targets for immune modulation and personalized therapy

Generated from macrophages, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly recognized as imperative in influencing cancer immune evasion, microenvironment alteration, and therapy sensitivity. Together with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), this detailed investigation investigates the several roles of lncRNAs derived from M1 and M2 macrophage subtypes in regulating tumor progression. In contrast to the cancer-promoting effect of M2-based derived lncRNAs, such as H19, AFAP1-AS1, and CRNDE, which stimulate tumor proliferation, metastases, and chemoresistance through a variety of cascades, M1-based derived lncRNAs, such as HOTTIP and NBR2, exhibit tumor-suppressive roles in augmenting inflammatory signals and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Other than their involvement in the development of cancer, macrophage-derived lncRNAs have important immune control effects based on macrophage polarization, cytokine production, and immune checkpoints. Recent progress in single-cell RNA sequencing and the CRISPR-based functional studies also now provides new lncRNA targets and improved accuracy of diagnostics and optimization of therapy approaches. It marks a new step in personalized cancer immunotherapy: our research focuses on the possibilities of macrophage-derived lncRNAs as biomarkers and treatment options.