Fig. 3
From: Radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy: the dawn of cancer treatment
Immunomodulatory effect of radiation on TANs. Radiation shows complexity regarding the immunomodulatory effect on TANs. On the one hand, radiation may induce TANs to exhibit the antitumor characteristic (N1) by IFN-β. N1 phenotype induces tumor cells cytotoxicity/apoptosis through ROS and activates CD8+ T cells and M1 macrophage. On the other hand, radiation may induce TANs to exhibit the pro-tumor characteristic through TGF-β. N2 phenotype promotes genetic instability by ROS, cancer proliferation, and immunosuppression effect by inhibiting CD8+ T cells and NK cells and enhancing Treg cells. Parts of this figure were drawn with aid of Servier Medical Art (http://www.servier.com), licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
