Skirtingomis funkcijomis pasižyminčių CD8^hCD57⁺ T limfocitų subpopuliacijų kiekybiniai pokyčiai išplitusia inkstų ląstelių karcinoma ar didelės rizikos melanoma sergančių pacientų periferiniame kraujyje

Abstract

Introduction. CD8 h CD57 + T-cell subpopulation and its functionally different subsets play an important role in antitumour immunity. The relation of competitive subsets may influence the overall effect of CD8 h CD57 + T-cell mediated antitumour immunity and determine an individual response to antitumour immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proportion of cytotoxic, immunomodulating and immunosuppressive subsets of the CD8 h CD57 + T-cell subpopulation in the peripheral blood of cancer patients and agematched healthy controls.Materials and methods. We studied the expression of biomarkers representing the cytotoxic (perforin), immunosuppressive (FOXP3, NKG2A) and immunomodulating (IFNγ) properties of CD8 + CD57 + T cells in the peripheral blood of 49 cancer patients: 30 with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (age median 58, range 43-81), 19 with high risk cutaneous melanoma (age median 68, range 45-86) and 26 controls (age median 55, range 41-81) by multicolour flow cytometry.Results. The percentage of immunosuppressive CD8 h CD57 + FOXP3 + T-cell subset in CD8 h CD57 + T-cell population varied. It was absent in 65% of controls, while only 23% and 26% of such patients were observed in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and melanoma groups, respectively. Even 40% of RCC and 37% of melanoma patients had a high percentage of CD8 h CD57 + FOXP3 + T-cell subset, while in the control group we found no such subjects.The cytotoxic CD8 h CD57 + Perforin + T-cell subset was significantly increased in RCC patients, but showed no relevant rise in melanoma patients, whereas the immunomodulating CD8 h CD57 + IFNγ + subset was significantly increased in melanoma patients but showed no relevant rise in RCC patients when compared to controls.Conclusions. The amount of various functionally different subsets in CD8 h CD57 + T-cell subpopulation varies greatly among cancer patients. These differences may influence the overall CD8 h CD57 + T-cell mediated antitumour immune response and determine an individual response to antitumour immunotherapy.