title: The coexpression and clinical significance of costimulatory molecules B7-H1, B7-H3, and B7-H4 in human pancreatic cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the expression of the inhibitory costimulatory molecules B7-H1, B7-H3, and B7-H4 in human pancreatic cancer to define their clinical significance and mechanism in a tumor microenvironment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-three pancreatic cancer tissues and 12 normal pancreatic tissues were examined in our research. Patients were enrolled in the study between December 2000 and August 2010. Expression levels of the B7 family of molecules and densities of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the tissues were characterized with immunohistochemical assays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than 50% of the patients expressed B7-H1 and B7-H4, and nearly 100% of the patients expressed B7-H3. B7-H1 expression was correlated with tumor size, B7-H3 expression was correlated with lymph-node metastasis and differentiation grade, and B7-H4 expression was correlated with tumor size, lymph-node metastasis, and invasion depth. High B7-H4 expression was also correlated with poor survival in pancreatic cancer. We determined the value of these three B7 family molecules in the postoperative survival prognosis for patients with pancreatic cancer, and pancreatic cancer patients with less coexpression of the B7 family of molecules had a significantly higher survival rate. B7-H1 expression was found to be negatively related to the intensity of both CD3(+) T cells and CD8(+) T cells, and B7-H4 expression was negatively related to CD3(+) T-cell infiltration intensity, but not to CD8(+) T cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  B7-H1, B7-H3, and B7-H4 are involved in pancreatic cancer progression, and their coexpression could be a valuable prognostic indicator. Negative regulation of T-cell infiltration might be the main mechanism of action of the B7 family of molecules in pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dongming
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiaoming
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhi
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shiduo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Songbing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zixiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dechun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: B7-H1; B7-H3; B7-H4; pancreatic cancer; tumor-infiltrated T cell