title: Selective depletion of regulatory T cell subsets by docetaxel treatment in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer.
abstract: Regulatory T (Treg) cells are potent suppressors that maintain immune homeostasis. Accumulation of Treg can inhibit effective immune responses in cancer patients, leading to tumor development and progression. Despite direct cytotoxicity, several chemotherapeutic drugs have been reported to deplete Treg cells for better prognosis for cancer patients. Treg cells are a heterogenous population with at least three different subsets, nonsuppressive, resting, and activated Treg cells. However, the characteristics of Treg cell subsets in lung cancer patients and how chemotherapy affects Treg cells remain elusive. In this study, we first analyzed Treg cell subsets in peripheral blood samples from 40 nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and 20 healthy donors. Treg cells, specifically activated Treg cell subset, significantly increased in patients with NSCLC. Compared to nonsuppressive Treg cells, activated Treg cells expressed higher level of CD39 and predominantly produced inhibitory cytokines. In vitro assay showed that docetaxel reduced all three subsets of Treg cells. More importantly, we found docetaxel-based chemotherapy significantly decreased all three Treg subsets after 4 cycles of treatment in 17 NSCLC patients. Taken together, this study revealed dynamic changes of various Treg cell subsets in NSCLC patients before and after chemotherapy, providing activated Treg cells as a potential target for chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Jie-Yao
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Fang
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6556-4067
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Teng-Fei
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; School of Life Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Yan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3895-0437
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Li
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; School of Life Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine-Division of Hematology/Oncology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6631-7647
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China ; School of Life Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China ; Key Laboratory of Clinical-Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9861-4681
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000276:immunology; D000077143:Docetaxel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel