Somayeh Rezaeifard; Akbar Safaei; Abdolrasoul Talei; Zahra Faghih; Nasrollah Erfani
Abstract
Background: NK (natural killer) and NKT (natural killer T) cells, as components of innate immune system, play a crucial role in tumor progression and dissemination. Objective: To investigate the percentages of NK cells, NKT cells, iNKT (invariant natural killer T) cells, total T lymphocytes as well as ...
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Background: NK (natural killer) and NKT (natural killer T) cells, as components of innate immune system, play a crucial role in tumor progression and dissemination. Objective: To investigate the percentages of NK cells, NKT cells, iNKT (invariant natural killer T) cells, total T lymphocytes as well as activated T lymphocytes, in tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) of patients with breast cancer (BC) and their association with different clinic-pathological features of the patients. Methods: Axillary lymph nodes were obtained from 30 Iranian women with breast cancer. After routine pathological evaluations, mononuclear cells were separated from their lymph nodes and incubated with appropriate fluorochrome conjugated monoclonal antibodies specific for CD3, HLA-DR, CD16/56, and Vα24Jα18-TCR. Data were collected on a four-color flow cytometer and analyzed by CellQuest software. Results: The mean percentages of NK (CD3-CD16/56+), NKT (CD3+CD16/56+) and iNKT (Vα24Jα18-TCR+) cells in TDLNs mononuclear cells of BC patients were 2.04%, 2.44% and 0.1%, respectively. A significant decrease in the percentages of NK and iNKT subsets in patients with grade I was observed compared to grade III (p=0.03 and p=0.01, respectively). Moreover, NK cells were increased in patients with grade III of BC compared to grade II (p= 0.003). Conclusion: The increase in the percentage of NK and iNKT cells in TDLNs of patients with higher grade of BC might suggest a suppressive phenotype for these cells in breast cancer, which merit more functional investigation.
Zahra Faghih; Saeideh Sadat Shobeiri; Ali Ariafar; Mohsen Sarkarian; Shahryar Zeighami; Nazanin Nazari; Saeed Abbasi-Sarvak; Nasrollah Erfani
Volume 13, Issue 4 , December 2016, , Pages 237-248
Abstract
Background: Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, as essential parts of the adaptive immune
system, play pivotal roles in anti-tumor immune responses. It is well documented that
cytokine expression profiles and activation status of these cells during anti-tumor
immune responses affect the outcome of host-tumor ...
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Background: Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, as essential parts of the adaptive immune
system, play pivotal roles in anti-tumor immune responses. It is well documented that
cytokine expression profiles and activation status of these cells during anti-tumor
immune responses affect the outcome of host-tumor interaction. Objective: To
investigate the percentages of CD8+ lymphocytes and their subsets in tumor draining
lymph nodes of patients with bladder cancer. Methods: Forty-five patients with bladder
cancer, candidate for radical cystectomy, were recruited. Mononuclear cells were
isolated from draining lymph nodes using Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation, and
were activated by PMA/Ionomycin in the presence of Golgi inhibitors. The cells were
then permeabilized and stained with appropriate flourochrome conjugated antibodies
against CD3, CD8, IFN-γ, IL-17 and IL-4 molecules. Data were collected on a fourcolor
flow cytometer and analyzed by CellQuestPro software. Results: Despite no
difference in the frequency of IL-17 producing CD8+ (Tc17) lymphocytes, the mean
expression of IL-17 in this subset was significantly elevated in high-grade patients
(p=0.011). The percentage of double positive IFN-γ/IL-17 CD8+ lymphocytes was also
significantly increased in node positive patients compared to node negative ones
(p=0.046). Our results also demonstrated that the percentage of IFN-γ producing CD8+
(Tc1) lymphocytes was significantly increased in the patients with higher histological
grade compared to those with lower ones (p=0.038). Conclusion: IFN-γ and IL-17
producing CD8+ T cells may increase in advanced stages of bladder cancer, but their
correlation with tumor prognosis remains to be investigated.