Exploration of tumor immunity leads to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and cell-based immunotherapies which improve the clinical outcomes in several tumor types. However, the poor clinical efficacy of these treatments observed for other tumors could be attributed to the inherent complex tumor microenvironment (TME), cellular heterogeneity, and stemness driven by cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSC-specific characteristics provide the bulk tumor surveillance and resistance to entire eradication upon conventional therapies. CSCs-immune cells crosstalk creates an immunosuppressive TME that reshapes the stemness in tumor cells, resulting in tumor formation and progression. Thus, identifying the immunological features of CSCs could introduce the therapeutic targets with powerful antitumor responses. In this review, we summarized the role of immune cells providing CSCs to evade tumor immunity, and then discussed the intrinsic mechanisms represented by CSCs to promote tumors’ resistance to immunotherapies. Then, we outlined potent immunotherapeutic interventions followed by a perspective outlook on the use of nanomedicine-based drug delivery systems for controlled modulation of the immune system.
Cornea is an avascular and transparent tissue that focuses light on retina. Cornea is supported by the corneal‐endothelial layer through regulation of hydration homeostasis. Restoring vision in patients afflicted with corneal endothelium dysfunction‐mediated blindness most often requires corneal transplantation (CT), which faces considerable constrictions due to donor limitations. An emerging alternative to CT is corneal endothelium tissue engineering (CETE), which involves utilizing scaffold‐based methods and scaffold‐free strategies. The innovative scaffold‐free method is cell sheet engineering, which typically generates cell layers surrounded by an intact extracellular matrix, exhibiting tunable release from the stimuli‐responsive surface. In some studies, scaffold‐based or scaffold‐free technologies have been reported to achieve promising outcomes. However, yet some issues exist in translating CETE from bench to clinical practice. In this review, we compare different corneal endothelium regeneration methods and elaborate on the application of multiple cell types (stem cells, corneal endothelial cells, and endothelial precursors), signaling molecules (growth factors, cytokines, chemical compounds, and small RNAs), and natural and synthetic scaffolds for CETE. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of three‐dimensional bioprinting strategies and simulation of Descemet's membrane by biomimetic topography. Finally, we dissected the recent advances, applications, and prospects of cell sheet engineering for CETE.
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