Our work reveals functional heterogeneity among interstitial macrophages, showing that distinct chemokine programs determine immune cell positioning and interactions within lung tumors. Interstitial macrophage niches support anti-tumor tertiary lymphoid structure formation and lymphocyte recruitment, but they also recruit pro-tumorigenic macrophages to the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, monocyte-derived dendritic cells migrate to tumor-draining lymph nodes, where they prime immunosuppressive responses. Blockade of this migration improved dendritic cell-based vaccination.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Li, X. et al. Coordinated chemokine expression defines macrophage subsets across tissues. Nat. Immunol. 25, 1110–1122 (2024). A paper reporting IM heterogeneity and demonstrating cross-species homology.
Rawat, K. et al. CCL5-producing migratory dendritic cells guide CCR5+ monocytes into the draining lymph nodes. J. Exp. Med. 220, e20222129 (2023). A paper demonstrating that CCR7-deficient moDCs capture tissue antigen and migrate to draining lymph nodes via CCR5.
Leach, S. M. et al. Human and mouse transcriptome profiling identifies cross-species homology in pulmonary and lymph node mononuclear phagocytes. Cell Rep. 33, 108337 (2020). A paper demonstrating cross-species homology among pulmonary mononuclear phagocytes, with monocytes showing the strongest overlap between humans and mice.
Li, X. & Jakubzick, C. V. The heterogeneity, parallels, and divergence of alveolar macrophages in humans and mice. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 72, 335–337 (2025). A paper demonstrating cross-species homology of heterogeneous alveolar macrophage subsets.
Li, X. et al. ScRNA-seq expression of IFI27 and APOC2 identifies four alveolar macrophage superclusters in healthy BALF. Life Sci. Alliance 5 (2022). A study that found 14 functionally distinct human alveolar macrophage subsets.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Ghosh, S. et al. Chemokine-defined macrophage niches establish spatial organization of tumor immunity. Nat. Immunol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02445-2 (2026).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yin and yang of tumor-associated macrophages. Nat Immunol 27, 658–659 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02486-7
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02486-7
