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. 2019 Jun 25;55(6):307.
doi: 10.3390/medicina55060307.

T Regulatory CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Lymphocytes in the Peripheral Blood of Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer Patients

Katarzyna Dylag-Trojanowska  1 , Joanna Rogala  2 , Radoslaw Pach  3 , Maciej Siedlar  4 , Jaroslaw Baran  5 , Marek Sierzega  6 , Justyna Zybaczynska  7 , Marzena Lenart  8 , Magdalena Rutkowska-Zapala  9 , Antoni M Szczepanik  10
Affiliations

T Regulatory CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Lymphocytes in the Peripheral Blood of Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer Patients

Katarzyna Dylag-Trojanowska et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Background and objectives: T regulatory lymphocytes (Treg) are one of the subsets of T-lymphocytes involved in the interaction of neoplastic tumors and the host immune system, and they may impair the immune reaction against cancer. It has been shown that Treg are increased in the peripheral blood of patients with various cancers. In colorectal cancer, the prognostic role of Treg remains controversial. Colorectal cancer is a heterogenous disease, with many variations stemming from its primary tumor location. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between the amount of Treg in the peripheral blood of patients with left-sided colorectal cancer in various stages of disease and long-term survival. Materials and Methods: A prospective analysis of 94 patients with left-sided colorectal cancer and a group of 21 healthy volunteers was carried out. Treg levels in peripheral blood were analysed using flow cytometry. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the amount of Treg in the Ist and IInd TNM stages (p = 0.047). The number of Treg in the entire study group was significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.008) and between patients in stages II and III and the control group (p = 0.003 and p = 0.018). The group of pT3+pT4 patients also had significantly lower Treg counts in their peripheral blood than the control group (p = 0.005). In the entire study group, the level of Treg cells in the peripheral blood had no influence on survival. The analysis of the TNM stage subgroups also showed no difference in survival between patients with "low" and "high" Treg counts. Conclusion: The absolute number of Treg in the peripheral blood of patients with left-sided colorectal cancer was significantly decreased in comparison to healthy controls, especially for patients with stage II+III disease. Treg presence in the peripheral blood had no impact on survival.

Keywords: CD4+CD25+Fox3+ cells; T-regulatory cells (Treg); left-sided colon cancer; overall survival; peripheral blood; prognosis; prognostic biomarker.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Gating strategy and analysis of Treg lymhocytes. Absolute numbers of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes were calculated on a basis of bead numbers (A). During Treg cells analysis, CD4+ lymphocytes (B) were divided into CD25+ and CD25-cells (C), and then Treg cells were determined as CD25+FoxP3+ lymphocytes (D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The absolute number of Treg lymphocytes (CD4+CD25+FoxP3+) in the peripheral blood of patients with left-sided colorectal cancer and the control group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Probability of survival in “Treg-low” and “Treg-high” groups of left-sided colorectal cancer patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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