title: Downregulation of expression of transporters associated with antigen processing 1 and 2 and human leukocyte antigen I and its effect on immunity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.
abstract: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-I and antigen-processing machinery (APM) are crucial in the anti-cancer immune response. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of the APM components [transporters associated with antigen processing (TAP)-1 and -2 and HLA-I] in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 58 NPC specimens and 20 healthy specimens used as control were evaluated by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry for three APM components (TAP-1, TAP-2 and HLA-I). The expression of the APM components in NPC was downregulated. CD4+and CD8+T cells were measured by flow cytometry and IL-10 was measured by ELISA. The number of CD8+T cells and the expression of IL-10 were higher and the number of CD4+T cells was lower in NPC, compared to the controls. The number of CD8+T cells and the expression of IL-10 were negatively correlated with TAP-1, TAP-2 and HLA-I expression. The clinical phase, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, pathological type, TAP-1 expression, TAP-2 expression and HLA-I expression were identified as prognostic factors by the Kaplan-Meier analysis. A multivariate analysis using a Cox regression model indicated that distant metastasis and the downregulation of HLA-I expression were independent unfavorable prognostic factors. In conclusion, the lower expression of HLA-I induced immunosuppression in NPC patients and was associated with a poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Yan-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Rui-Mei
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Liu-Fang
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Radiotherapy, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan 650034;
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiang-Ming
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hai-Ting
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yun-Chao
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Tumor Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118;
authors.forename: Xiao-Jiang
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: human leucocyte antigen I; nasopharyngeal neoplasms; transporter associated with antigen processing 1; transporter associated with antigen processing 2