The liver is an immunologically unique organ, consisting of resident hematopoietic and parenchymal cells which often contribute to a relatively tolerant microenvironment. It is also becoming increasingly clear that tumor-induced immunosuppression occurs via many of the same cellular mechanisms which contribute to the tolerogenic liver microenvironment. Myeloid cells, consisting of dendritic cells (DC), macrophages and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), have been implicated in providing a tolerogenic liver environment and immune dysfunction within the tumor microenvironment which can favor tumor progression. As we increase our understanding of the biological mechanisms involved for each phenotypic and/or functionally distinct leukocyte subset, immunotherapeutic strategies can be developed to overcome the inherent barriers to the development of improved strategies for the treatment of liver disease and tumors. In this review, we discuss the principal myeloid cell-based contributions to immunosuppression that are shared between the liver and tumor microenvironments. We further highlight immune-based strategies shown to modulate immunoregulatory cells within each microenvironment and enhance anti-tumor responses.
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