Zhongyan Shan1,2, Sixuan Liu1,2, Liu Yang1,2, Ziyi Liu1,2, Yanjia Hu1,2, Zhigang Yao1,3, Zhangui Tang1,2, Liangjuan Fang4,5, Hongzhi Quan1,2. 1. Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China. 2. Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China. 3. Department of Oral Pathology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China. 4. Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China. 5. National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Changsha, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The establishment of adaptive immune responses to neoplasms involves not only the tumour tissue, but also the peripheral blood. We aimed to conduct a preliminary exploration to understand the immune response of T lymphocytes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC-Ts) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: A total of 103 blood samples from OSCC patients and 18 blood samples from healthy donors (HD) were analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Compared to those in HD, a series of unique features of PBMC-Ts were observed in OSCC patients including a significant increase in CD4+ T cells, a shift from naïve to memory/effector phenotype, an increased frequency of exhausted phenotypes (programmed death-1 [PD-1], T cell Ig and mucin protein-3 [Tim-3] and Tregs), an abundance of Th17s and Tc17s and an imbalance in Th17/Tc17 and Th17/Treg ratios. Furthermore, in OSCC patients, we also found that CD4+ T cells were significantly increased in patients with larger tumours than smaller tumours, memory/effector phenotype and exhausted phenotypes were significantly associated with advanced clinical stage and lymph node metastasis, and the Th17/Treg ratio was associated with early clinical stage and no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: PBMC-Ts may be involved in the development and progression of OSCC, which suggested to be a manifestation of an immune response between host and tumour neoantigens.
BACKGROUND: The establishment of adaptive immune responses to neoplasms involves not only the tumour tissue, but also the peripheral blood. We aimed to conduct a preliminary exploration to understand the immune response of T lymphocytes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC-Ts) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: A total of 103 blood samples from OSCCpatients and 18 blood samples from healthy donors (HD) were analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Compared to those in HD, a series of unique features of PBMC-Ts were observed in OSCCpatients including a significant increase in CD4+ T cells, a shift from naïve to memory/effector phenotype, an increased frequency of exhausted phenotypes (programmed death-1 [PD-1], T cell Ig and mucin protein-3 [Tim-3] and Tregs), an abundance of Th17s and Tc17s and an imbalance in Th17/Tc17 and Th17/Treg ratios. Furthermore, in OSCCpatients, we also found that CD4+ T cells were significantly increased in patients with larger tumours than smaller tumours, memory/effector phenotype and exhausted phenotypes were significantly associated with advanced clinical stage and lymph node metastasis, and the Th17/Treg ratio was associated with early clinical stage and no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: PBMC-Ts may be involved in the development and progression of OSCC, which suggested to be a manifestation of an immune response between host and tumour neoantigens.