[CD4+CD25high regulatory cells in peripheral blood of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].
OBJECTIVE
The current study was designed to investigate the changes in peripheral CD4+ CD25high regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25high Tr) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).


METHODS
The peripheral was collected blood from 54 patients with NPC and 15 healthy controls, by using monoclonal antibodies, the blood samples were evaluated with the flow cytometry for lymphocyte subsets and Tr cells.


RESULTS
The proportion of CD4+ T cells, and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in NPC group was significantly less than those of the healthy controls (P < 0.05), but the proportion of CD4+ CD25high Tr cells was higher than those in controls (P < 0.01). The proportion of CD4+ CD25high Tr cells in the late stage was higher than those in the early stage [(stages I + II (2.28 +/- 1.07) %; stage III (3.65 +/- 1.21) %; stage IV (4.72 +/- 0.87) %)]. Comparing with the stages I + II, the proportion of CD4+ CD25high Tr cells in the stage III or IV was higher than those in controls (P < 0.01); and more, the proportion of CD4+ CD25high Tr cells in the stage IV was higher than those in the stage III (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The relative increase in CD4+ CD25high Tr cells in peripheral blood may be related to immunosuppression and tumor progression in patients with NPC. This finding suggests that CD4+ CD25high Tr cells in peripheral blood of NPC may be positive for prognosis analysis. Deletion of the CD4+ CD25high Tr cells may induce tumor immunity effectively and may be a new tumor treatment method.
Liu
Li
L
The Fourth Department, Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430023, China.
Yao
Junxia
J
Ding
Qian
Q
Cao
Rubo
R
Wang
Jing
J
Huang
Shiang
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*