The role of lipid metabolic interactions in reshaping the tumor microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment (TME), which encompasses the extracellular matrix, cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, pericytes, and immune cells, is intimately connected to tumor development and metastasis. TME is widely heterogeneous, and metabolic interactions among the different components contribute to reshaping TME. Lipid metabolism, referring to lipid uptake, synthesis, transport, and lipolysis, is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis. The availability of nutrients in the TME constantly changes during tumor progression, and tumor cells must reprogram lipid metabolism to maintain their rapid proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastatic potential. The interactions of lipid metabolism among tumor cells and other cell subtypes reshape the microenvironment into a niche suitable for tumor development. In this review, we present the featured lipid metabolic interactions within the TME of different cancer types and discuss how targeting abnormal lipid metabolic pathways could be a promising strategy for cancer therapeutics.