title: Premalignant Oral Lesion Cells Elicit Increased Cytokine Production and Activation of T-cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are known to evade the host immune response. How premalignant oral lesions modulate the immune response, however, has yet to be elucidated.
  
  
  METHODS
  A mouse model of oral carcinogenesis was used to determine how mediators from premalignant oral lesion cells vs. HNSCC cells impact on immune cytokine production and activation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Media conditioned by premalignant lesion cells elicited an increased production of T cell-associated cytokines and proinflammatory mediators from cervical lymph node cells compared to media conditioned by HNSCC cells or media alone. In the presence of premalignant lesion cell-conditioned media, CD4(+) T cell expression of the IL-2 receptor CD25 and CD8(+) T cell expression of the activation marker CD69 was greater, compared to what was induced in HNSCC cell-conditioned media or media alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Premalignant lesion cells promote a proinflammatory environment and induce immune changes before HNSCC tumors are established.
authors.affiliation: Research Service (151) Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC, U.S.A. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, U.S.A. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Sara D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Research Service (151) Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Levingston
authors.affiliation: Research Service (151) Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC, U.S.A. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, U.S.A. Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, U.S.A. rita.young@va.gov.
authors.forename: M Rita I
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000276:immunology*; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: T cell activation; cytokines; head and neck cancer; premalignant oral lesions