title: Derangement of the T-cell repertoire in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: Although a number of studies suggest that different immune pathways may play a role in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), the shape of the T-cell compartment has been only superficially explored in these patients. In our study, we analyzed the peripheral T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and the distribution of different T-cell subsets - including regulatory T cells (Treg) - in 30 patients with NHL, by combining flow cytometry and spectratyping. We first demonstrated by flow cytometry an increased frequency of expanded T-cell subpopulations expressing the same TCR beta variable (BV) subfamilies in CD8+ cells from NHL patients when compared with healthy controls, beside a higher frequency of Treg. Moreover, NHL patients were characterized by a higher percentage of BVs showing a skewed CDR3 profile both in CD4+ and CD8+ cells when analyzed by spectratyping. Our data suggest that the T-cell branch of the immune system of patients with B-cell NHL is deeply deranged, as witnessed by the increased degree of activation and skewing of their TCR repertoire along with the higher frequency of Treg.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fozza
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corda
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Virdis
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Contini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barraqueddu
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galleu
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isoni
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cossu
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dore
authors.forename: Maria G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Careddu
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonfigli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giannico
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longinotti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D060965:Clonal Evolution; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007167:Immunotherapy; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta
keywords: T-cell receptor repertoire; flow cytometry; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; regulatory T cells; spectratyping; third complementarity determining region