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Improving function of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes by transforming growth factor-β inhibitor in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Immunotherapy with immune-checkpoint therapy has recently been used to treat oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). However, improvements in current immunotherapy are expected because response rates are limited. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) creates an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by inducing the production of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts and inhibiting the function of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer cells. TGF-β may be an important target in the development of novel cancer immunotherapies. In this study, we investigated the suppressive effect of TGF-β on CTL function in vitro using OSCC cell lines and their specific CTLs. Moreover, TGFB1 mRNA expression and T-cell infiltration in 25 OSCC tissues were examined by in situ hybridization and multifluorescence immunohistochemistry. We found that TGF-β suppressed the function of antigen-specific CTLs in the priming and effector phases in vitro. Additionally, TGF-β inhibitor effectively restored the CTL function, and TGFB1 mRNA was primarily expressed in the tumor invasive front. Interestingly, we found a significant negative correlation between TGFB1 mRNA expression and the CD8⁺ T-cell/Treg ratio and between TGFB1 mRNA expression and the Ki-67 expression in CD8⁺ T-cells, indicating that TGF-β also suppressed the function of CTLs in situ. Our findings suggest that the regulation of TGF-β function restores the immunosuppressive TME to active status and is important for developing new immunotherapeutic strategies, such as a combination of immune-checkpoint inhibitors and TGF-β inhibitors, for OSCCs.

SUBMITTER: Kondo Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8486191 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Cancer immunotherapy targeting CD8+ T cells has made remarkable progress, even for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a heterogeneous epithelial tumor without a substantial increase in the overall survival rate over the past decade. However, the therapeutic effects remain limited due to therapy resistance. Thus, a more comprehensive understanding of the roles of CD4+ T cells and B cells is crucial for more robust development of cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we examined immune responses and effector functions of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells and B cells infiltrating in OSCC lesions using single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire sequencing analysis, and multi-color immunofluorescence staining. Finally, two Kaplan-Meier curves and several Cox proportional hazards models were constructed for the survival analysis. We observed expansion of CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) expressing granzymes, which are reported to induce cell apoptosis, with a unique gene expression patterns. CD4+ CTLs also expressed CXCL13, which is a B cell chemoattractant. Cell-cell communication analysis and multi-color immunofluorescence staining demonstrated potential interactions between CD4+ CTLs and B cells, particularly IgD- CD27- double negative (DN) B cells. Expansion of CD4+ CTLs, DN B cells, and their contacts has been reported in T and B cell-activated diseases, including IgG4-related disease and COVID-19. Notably, we observed upregulation of several inhibitory receptor genes including CTLA-4 in CD4+ CTLs, which possibly dampened T and B cell activity. We next demonstrated comprehensive delineation of the potential for CD8+ T cell differentiation towards dysfunctional states. Furthermore, prognostic analysis revealed unfavorable outcomes of patients with a high proportion of CD4+ CTLs in OSCC lesions. Our study provides a dynamic landscape of lymphocytes and demonstrates a systemic investigation of CD4+ CTL effects infiltrating into OSCC lesions, which may share some pathogenesis reported in severe T and B cell-activated diseases such as autoimmune and infectious diseases.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg) are characterized by the presence of CD4+ surface antigen. Today the transcription factor FOXP3 is considered to be the most specific marker of Treg cells. The aim of the study was to estimate the percentage of Treg in peripheral blood and the tissue of the epithelial ovarian tumor and blood serum TGF-beta concentrations and relationships between them. Moreover, the aim of the study was to answer the question whether the percentage of Treg lymphocytes affects the time of survival in patients with ovarian cancer. METHODS:The patients were divided into four groups, depending on the histopathological examination result: I--a group without any pathology within the ovaries (C; n?=?20), II--a group with benign tumors (B; n?=?25), III - with borderline tumors (BR; n?=?11), IV--a group with cancer of the ovary (M; n?=?24). The percentage of Treg lymphocytes in peripheral blood and the tissue was assessed using the flow cytometry method. TGF-beta cytokine concentration was estimated with the ELISA immunoenzymatic test. Statistical analysis of the results was conducted using the computer program Statistica 10.0PL (StatSoft, Inc). RESULTS:No significant differences were found in percentages of Treg lymphocytes in peripheral blood between individual groups of patients (p?=?0.11). However, we observed marked differences in the tissue of malignant and non-malignant tumors between individual groups of patients (p?=?0.003). The analysis with the post hoc test revealed significantly higher TGF-beta concentration in the group of women with malignant tumors. Moreover, no relationship was found between TGF-beta concentration and the percentage of Treg cells in peripheral blood and tumors of the ovary. No correlation was found between the percentage of Treg lymphocytes in peripheral blood (p?=?0.4) and the tissue of ovarian tumors (p?=?0.3) and the time of survival of patients with ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS:The recruitment of Treg lymphocytes toward the tumor is one of the mechanisms of escape of neoplasm from the response of the immune system. The percentage of Treg lymphocytes in peripheral blood and the neoplastic tissue does not influence the time of survival of patients with ovarian cancer.

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Improving function of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes by transforming growth factor-β inhibitor in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

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