Genome-wide analysis of cancer cell-derived Foxp3 target genes in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells

CTLA4 expression profiles and their association with clinical outcomes of breast cancer: a systemic review

Purpose

The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) is involved in the progression of various cancers, but its biological roles in breast cancer (BRCA) remain unclear. Therefore, we performed a systematic multiomic analysis to expound on the prognostic value and underlying mechanism of CTLA4 in BRCA.

Methods

We assessed the effect of CTLA4 expression on BRCA using a variety of bioinformatics platforms, including Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN, PrognoScan database, Kaplan-Meier plotter, and R2: Kaplan-Meier scanner.

Results

CTLA4 was highly expressed in BRCA tumor tissue compared to normal tissue (P < 0.01). The CTLA4 messenger RNA levels in BRCA based on BRCA subtypes of Luminal, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and triple-negative BRCA were considerably higher than in normal tissues (P < 0.001). However, the overexpression of CTLA4 was associated with a better prognosis in BRCA (P < 0.001) and was correlated with clinicopathological characteristics including age, T stage, estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and prediction analysis of microarray 50 (P < 0.01). The infiltration of multiple immune cells was associated with increased CTLA4 expression in BRCA (P < 0.001). CTLA4 was highly enriched in antigen binding, immunoglobulin complexes, lymphocyte-mediated immunity, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction.

Conclusion

This study provides suggestive evidence of the prognostic role of CTLA4 in BRCA, which may be a therapeutic target for BRCA. Furthermore, CTLA4 may influence BRCA prognosis through antigen binding, immunoglobulin complexes, lymphocyte-mediated immunity, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. These findings help us understand how CTLA4 plays a role in BRCA and set the stage for more research.

Tumour Microenvironment as a Potential Immune Therapeutic Target for Tongue Cancer Management

Immunotherapy is a promising approach in the management of human cancers and has been proven to provide a durable response in many cancers. It is helpful as an adjuvant therapy for cancers and at present is considered as a fourth pillar supporting surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the treatment of oral cancer, immunotherapy is approved in late-stage diseases where surgical resection cannot be carried out or fails, leading to recurrences and metastasis. Evidences suggest that when given as a first-line treatment, it can elicit an immune response that shrinks tumours, which could provide long-term benefit for patients. But unlike the traditional approach which follows the uniform protocol for all oral cancer patients, effective immunotherapy requires a more site-specific personalized approach. The aim of this paper is to review the various immune evasive mechanisms adopted by tumour cells and their relevance as potential targets for immunotherapy in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Analysis of Treg/Th17 cells in patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of the present study was to analyze the percentage of regulatory T cells (Treg) and T helper cell 17 (Th17) cells in the peripheral blood of patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) to provide novel insight into the development of immune-targeting therapies for TSCC. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 40 patients with TSCC then the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma were isolated for flow cytometry, cytometric bead array and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Results demonstrated that the percentage of cluster of differentiation (CD)4+ T cells in the peripheral blood of patients with TSCC decreased significantly compared with the control. However, the percentage of Treg and Th17 cells increased significantly compared with the control. The levels of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-17a increased significantly in patients with TSCC. Expression of IL-10 and IL-17 in the advanced stages of cancer (stage III or IV) were significantly higher compared with the early stages (I and II). The mRNA expression levels of the transcription factors forkhead box protein 3 and RAR-related orphan receptor-γ increased significantly with stage of cancer. The percentage of Treg cells and Th17 cells increased significantly in patients with TSCC suggesting that there was an imbalance between Treg and Th17 cells. In conclusion, altered Treg/Th17 balance in TSCC may promote the disease progression and these results provide a theoretical basis for the development of immunomodulators targeting Treg/Th17.

Deciphering the Role of Regulatory CD4 T Cells in Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Background: Recruiting regulatory CD4 T cells (Tregs) into the tumor microenvironment is an important tumor escape mechanism. Diminishing these suppressive cells is therefore one of the targets of cancer immunotherapy. Selective depletion of Tregs has proven successful in enhancing anti-tumor immunity and therapeutic efficacy in multiple tumor types. However, the role of Tregs in oral/oropharyngeal cancers is unclear with conflicting evidence regarding the effect of these suppressive cells on tumor prognosis. In this study, we sought to review the role of Tregs in oral/oropharyngeal cancer with the aim of deciphering the controversy regarding their effect on tumor progression and prognosis.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature pertaining to the role of Tregs in oral/oropharyngeal cancer was performed using Scopus, Embase, and PubMed. Forty-five records were deemed eligible and data describing methodology of Treg detection, tumor type, and association with prognosis were extracted.

Results: Of the 45 eligible manuscripts accepted for this systematic review, thirty-nine studies reported data from human subjects while the remaining studies focused on animal models. Sixteen studies were carried out using peripheral blood samples, while samples from the tumor site were analyzed in 18 studies and 11 studies assessed both blood and tumor samples. The transcriptional factor, Foxp3, was the most commonly used marker for Treg identification (38/45). The findings of 25 studies suggested that an increase in Tregs in the tumor microenvironment and/or peripheral blood was associated with poorer prognosis. These conclusions were attributed to the suppression of immune responses and the consequent tumor progression. Conversely, nine studies showed an increase in Tregs in peripheral blood and/or tumor microenvironment was related to a favorable prognosis, particularly in the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV), the status of which was only assessed in 11 studies.

Conclusions: This review underlines the importance of host immunity in the behavior of oral/oropharyngeal cancer. Furthermore, we report an apparent lack of clarity regarding the true role Tregs play in oral/oropharyngeal cancer progression which could be attributed to inconsistent detection techniques of Tregs. Our results therefore highlight the need for clearer methodologies and more robust phenotyping when defining Tregs.

Interaction of cancer cell-derived Foxp3 and tumor microenvironment in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma

The forkhead transcription factor, Foxp3, has been proved essential for differentiation and activation of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Recently, Foxp3 expression in tumor cells (cancer cell-derived Foxp3) has gained increasing interest, but the function has yet to be confirmed. In the current investigation, we identified the interaction of cancer cell-derived Foxp3 and tumor microenvironment in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma(TSCC) by various in vitro methods. We detected cancer cell-derived Foxp3 was closely associated with the infiltration of Foxp3 + lymphocytes in TSCC lesions using immunohistochemical staining. The cytokines secretion (IFN-γ, TGFβ, IL-2, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-8, IL-17, IL-23) of PBMC and differentiation of CD4 +T cells were modulated by the expression of Foxp3 in TSCC, shown by ELISA and flow cytometry. As feedback, increasing TGFβ and decreasing IL-17 further up-regulated cancer cell-derived Foxp3. Furthermore, CHIP on chip assay showed that both TGFβ and IL-17 decreased the number of Foxp3-binding genes in TSCC. GO and pathway analysis suggested that, treated with TGFβ or Th17, Foxp3-binding genes were inclined to the negative regulation of TGFβ signal pathway. Taken together, this study showed cancer cell-derived Foxp3 contributed to Tregs expansion in TSCC microenvironment with positive and negative feedbacks.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes predict prognosis of breast cancer patients treated with anti-Her-2 therapy

PURPOSE

Infiltration of tumor associated lymphocytes and count of its different phenotypes are potentially new independent predictor of prognosis in breast cancer. However, research related to it is less reported in breast cancer patients treated with anti-Her-2 therapy. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between survival and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes including its different phenotypes in tumors of such patients.

METHODS

Between 1999 and 2010, 98 patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer and treated with anti-Her-2 therapy at Sun-Yat-Sen University Cancer Center were included in the study. Biopsy specimens were collected post-operation but before chemotherapy. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes as well as its FOXP3+, CD68+, IL-17+ phenotypes in both intratumoral and stromal sites and expression of FOXP3 in cancer cells were assessed.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time of 98 patients was 83.3 months (range 7.4-201 months). It suggested that patients with high stromal infiltration of TILs, lower count of FOXP3+ Tregs and CD68+ Mφ in stromal site, and high expression of FOXP3 in cancer cells had longer survival of OS. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high count of intratumoral CD68+ Mφ [HR: 2.70 (1.00-7.31); p=0.050] and high expression of FOXP3 in cancer cells [HR: 0.29 (0.09-0.91); p=0.034] were independent prognostic factors for overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes as well as its FOXP3+, CD68+ phenotypes in stromal site, and expression of FOXP3 in cancer cells were significantly associated with OS, suggesting that they can be used as important pathological factor predicting prognosis of breast cancer patients treated with anti-Her-2 therapy.

Simultaneous, Single-Cell Measurement of Messenger RNA, Cell Surface Proteins, and Intracellular Proteins

Nucleic acid content can be quantified by flow cytometry through the use of intercalating compounds; however, measuring the presence of specific sequences has hitherto been difficult to achieve by this methodology. The primary obstacle to detecting discrete nucleic acid sequences by flow cytometry is their low quantity and the presence of high background signals, rendering the detection of hybridized fluorescent probes challenging. Amplification of nucleic acid sequences by molecular techniques such as in situ PCR have been applied to single-cell suspensions, but these approaches have not been easily adapted to conventional flow cytometry. An alternative strategy implements a Branched DNA technique, comprising target-specific probes and sequentially hybridized amplification reagents, resulting in a theoretical 8,000- to 16,000-fold increase in fluorescence signal amplification. The Branched DNA technique allows for the quantification of native and unmanipulated mRNA content with increased signal detection and reduced background. This procedure utilizes gentle fixation steps with low hybridization temperatures, leaving the assayed cells intact to permit their concomitant immunophenotyping. This technology has the potential to advance scientific discovery by correlating potentially small quantities of mRNA with many biological measurements at the single-cell level.

FoxP3 in papillary thyroid carcinoma induces NIS repression through activation of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway

Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is associated with resistance to radioiodine treatment. The sodium iodine symporter (NIS) is a plasma membrane glycoprotein, the repression of which may render the tumor refractive to radioiodine therapy. In this study, samples from 90 PTCs as well as 40 normal thyroid tissues were examined for FoxP3 and NIS by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. We found that FoxP3 was associated with decreased NIS expression. Lentiviral-mediated FoxP3-overexpressing cells were constructed and real-time PCR and western blotting were performed to evaluate the expression of NIS. Meanwhile, key members of the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) pathway were explored by ELISA and immunofluorescence and a neutralizing TGF-β1 antibody was used to block activity. In vitro, FoxP3 overexpression significantly reduced NIS transcript and protein levels and the TGF-β1 pathway was activated. However, treatment with neutralizing TGF-β1 antibody partially abrogated FoxP3-induced NIS repression. These findings suggest that FoxP3 could compromise NIS expression by inducing TGF-β1.