title: Increase in the proportion of granulated CD56+ T cells in patients with malignancy.
abstract: Evidence is presented for the existence of a unique T cell population which expressed one of the natural killer (NK) markers, CD56 antigen, in humans. Although such CD56+ T cells were a minor population in the peripheral blood (< 10%), they were abundant in the liver (up to 50%), which was recently demonstrated to be a major organ for extrathymic T cell differentiation in mice. As in the case of extrathymic T cells in mice, these CD56+ T cells in humans contained a higher proportion of gamma delta T cells than did CD56- T cells, contained double-negative CD4-8- cells, and had the morphology of large granular lymphocytes. This unique population of CD56+ T cells tended to be elevated in the blood and among tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with colorectal cancer, especially in advanced cases. These results raise the possibility that, as in mice, CD56+ T cells with extrathymic T cell properties may also be associated with tumour immunity in humans.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takii
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iiai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology*; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D019002:CD56 Antigen