Epigenetic rewiring of immunological memory in cancer: heterogeneity, mechanisms, and therapeutic vulnerabilities
- 1Precision Pharmacy & Drug Development Center, Department of Pharmacy, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
- 2Department of Oncology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
- 3School of Life Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
Abstract
Immunological memory is a core feature of the immune system that enables rapid and robust responses to re-exposure to the same antigens, underpinning durable antitumor immunity and the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, the epigenetic mechanisms governing the rewiring of immunological memory in the context of cancer—including the heterogeneity of memory immune cells, the regulatory networks of epigenetic modifications, and their therapeutic vulnerabilities—remain incompletely understood. This review focuses on the epigenetic rewiring process of immunological memory (covering both adaptive and innate immune memory) in cancer initiation, progression, and response to therapy, summarizes emerging insights into the heterogeneous characteristics of memory immune cells and their epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, highlights therapeutic opportunities targeting epigenetic rewiring to harness immune memory potential, and discusses the challenges and prospects of translating these findings into clinical practice, aligning with the core objectives of the Research Topic.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026epigenetic,
title = {{Epigenetic rewiring of immunological memory in cancer: heterogeneity, mechanisms, and therapeutic vulnerabilities}},
author = {Wenna Liu and Xiaole Pan and Yujia Zhao and Zhimei Li and Dan Wu and Ying Liang},
journal = {Frontiers in Immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1890189},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1890189},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Epigenetic rewiring of immunological memory in cancer: heterogeneity, mechanisms, and therapeutic vulnerabilities
AU - Wenna Liu
AU - Xiaole Pan
AU - Yujia Zhao
AU - Zhimei Li
AU - Dan Wu
AU - Ying Liang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1890189
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1890189
AB - Immunological memory is a core feature of the immune system that enables rapid and robust responses to re-exposure to the same antigens, underpinning durable antitumor immunity and the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, the epigenetic mechanisms governing the rewiring of immunological memory in the context of cancer—including the heterogeneity of memory immune cells, the regulatory networks of epigenetic modifications, and their therapeutic vulnerabilities—remain incompletely understood. This review focuses on the epigenetic rewiring process of immunological memory (covering both adaptive and innate immune memory) in cancer initiation, progression, and response to therapy, summarizes emerging insights into the heterogeneous characteristics of memory immune cells and their epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, highlights therapeutic opportunities targeting epigenetic rewiring to harness immune memory potential, and discusses the challenges and prospects of translating these findings into clinical practice, aligning with the core objectives of the Research Topic.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -