Search

Highlights • Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have the ability to self-regenerate and recurrent the tumor. • The immune system can somehow fight with CSCs, but will eventually become weakened by these cancerous cells. • The immune cells are altered when they come into contact with CSCs, and somewhat obedient to the tumor. Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subgroup of tumor cells that are characterized by their tumor initiating capacity, low proliferation rate, self-renewal capacity, pluripotency and chemoresistance. The immune system, including innate and adaptive immune cells, plays pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic roles in cancer biology. Immunosurveillance often initially successfully eradicates tumor cells. However, following a phenomenon referred to as immunoediting, cancer cells may ultimately evade immune destruction, thus enabling tumor progression. Here, we review how CSCs both escape immune destruction and foster establishment of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment through intricate interactions with and recruitment of a broad range of immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) and T helper (Th) cells. Further elucidation of CSC-immune cell interactions and the underlying signaling mechanisms will open up novel opportunities to improve cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]