T lymphocytes infiltrating advanced grades of cervical neoplasia. CD8-positive cells are recruited to invasion.
BACKGROUND
Impaired cellular immunity appears to be a risk factor for progression of cervical neoplasia, but the immunobiology of neoplastic progression is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize the subpopulations of T lymphocytes that infiltrate various grades of cervical neoplasia including metaplasia to invasive cancer in immunocompetent women.


METHODS
In 65 patients with a spectrum of cervical disease ranging from normal cytology to carcinoma, the relative proportions of total T lymphocytes and CD4- or CD8-expressing (helper or cytotoxic) T lymphocyte subsets were determined by immunohistochemistry.


RESULTS
When the invasive carcinoma stromal infiltrate was compared with the infiltrate of preinvasive lesions, the numbers of total T cells and the CD8-positive subset increased significantly in the invasive cancers (P < 0.005). Although immunocyte infiltrates were highly concentrated in focal clusters beneath the preinvasive squamous lesions, the CD8-positive immunocytes diffusely infiltrated the invading tumor.


CONCLUSIONS
The CD8-positive T cell infiltrate far exceeded the CD4-positive cells in the invasive, but not in the preinvasive lesions, a finding that suggests that CD8 cells are recruited preferentially to cervical lesions with progression to invasion.
Edwards
R P
RP
Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center, USA.
Kuykendall
K
K
Crowley-Nowick
P
P
Partridge
E E
EE
Shingleton
H M
HM
Mestecky
J
J
D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D010641:Phenotype; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*