Dose-dependent bidirectional effects of gemcitabine in 4 T1 breast tumors are associated with angiogenesis and PMN-MDSC–linked immunosuppression
, increased Ki67 positivity, and reduced apoptosis. In contrast, higher-dose exposure suppressed tumor growth, reduced vascular markers, shifted tumors toward lower proliferation and higher apoptosis, and was accompanied by increased ALT and AST. Immune profiling showed that low-dose exposure expanded intra-tumoral PMN-MDSCs and increased the PMN/M-MDSC ratio while decreasing the CD8/Treg ratio, whereas higher-dose exposure reversed these trends. Multiplex mediator profiling highlighted VEGF-A, GM-CSF, G-CSF, CCL2, CXCL1, IL-10, and TGF-β, and correlation analyses linked pro-angiogenic and granulocytic cues to vascular density, PMN-MDSC dominance, T cell imbalance, and tumor burden. These findings define, in an immune-intact 4 T1 model, a dose window in which GEM shifts from tumor suppression to tumor promotion in association with angiogenesis-related remodeling and functionally relevant myeloid immunosuppression, underscoring the need for biomarker-guided calibration of metronomic gemcitabine strategies and for validation in metastatic settings.
Authors
- Yanshen Chen
- Qiaowei Zheng
- Hua Liu
- Chengpeng Wu
- Yan Feng
Institutions
- Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- Ten Chen Hospital (TW)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Immunopharmacology
- Published
- 2026-04-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2026.116645
- Primary Topic
- Immune cells in cancer
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Major Basic Research Project of the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions