title: Increase of regulatory T cells in metastatic stage and CTLA-4 over expression in lymphocytes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
abstract: We hypothesized that the increased percentages of Regulatory T (Treg) cells, as well as over expression of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen-4 (CTLA-4) by lymphocyte subsets might be associated with lung cancer. Accordingly, peripheral blood of 23 new cases with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 16 healthy volunteers were investigated, by follow cytometry, for the prevalence of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg cells as well as surface (sur-) and intracellular (In-) expression of CTLA-4 by the main lymphocyte subsets (CD4+, CD8+ and CD19+). Results indicated that NSCLC patients had an increased percentage of Treg cells than controls (7.9±4.1 versus 3.8±1.8, P=0.001). The proportion of Treg cells was observed to be increased by stage increase in patients (stage II=5.2±2.4, stage III=7.9±4.4, stage IV=12.0±2.2), and also significantly higher in metastatic than non-metastatic stages (12.0±2.2 versus 6.8±3.9, P=0.023). Increase of SurCTLA-4- as well as InCTLA-4-expressing lymphocytes in patients were observed in nearly all investigated subsets, but significant differences between patients and controls were observed about InCTLA-4+CD4+ lymphocytes (8.6±7.1 and 3.8±5.3 respectively, P=0.006) as well as SurCTLA-4+CD8+ lymphocytes (0.3±0.2 and 0.2±0.1 respectively, P=0.047). In conclusion, the results suggest that immunotherapy regimen targeting CTLA-4 and Treg cells might be beneficial in lung cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Immunology Group, Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasrollah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Erfani
authors.forename: Shayesteh Mofakhami
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mehrabadi
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ghayumi
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Haghshenas
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mojtahedi
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghaderi
authors.forename: Davar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen