title: Tumour infiltrating CD25+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) relate to tumour grade and stromal inflammation in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: This research is aimed to quantitate and characterize the subtypes of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), in particular the presence of FoxP3+ Tregs in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma using monospecific antibody staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. The correlation between tumour grade and the intensity of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes was tried to be tested, to assume a putative linkage between them. Thirty-four cases of histologically proven primary oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) of different grades of differentiation were assorted to groups 1-3. Three-micron sections of tissue were cut and captured on electrically charged slides (Vision BioSystem, Mount Waverley, Australia) and stained using monospecific antibody against FoxP3+ Treg phenotype (dilution 1:40, Mouse monoclone No: 236A/E7, Ab 20034, IgG1; Abcam, Cambridge, UK). Automated protocols were employed for staining and scoring of staining intensity using Bond™ system (Vision BioSystem). Significant difference in staining intensities (Tregs) was noted among the histologic grades of tumour, where well-differentiated OSCC had significantly low expression of FoxP3+ Tregs in comparison with moderately and poorly differentiated tumours. A significant linear correlation was established between tumour grade and the intensity of TILs, where high grade tumours (poor differentiation) were more markedly infiltrated. There was also a significant positive correlation between FoxP3+ Tregs and TILs in cases studied. The correlation of these three variables noted in the study (FoxP3+ Tregs, tumour grade and TILs) and their significance in a meta-analysis may prove useful in targeting patients with high-risk neoplasms for more aggressive treatment protocols and management strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ksucod@gmail.com
authors.forename: Dalal
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Al-Qahtani
authors.forename: Sukumaran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anil
authors.forename: Ravindranath
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajendran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit