Oligoclonal expansion of TCR Vδ T cells may be a potential immune biomarker for clinical outcome of acute myeloid leukemia. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jin, Zhenyi; Luo, Qiang; Lu, Shuai; Wang, Xinyu; He, Zifan; Lai, Jing; Chen, Shaohua; Yang, Lijian; Wu, Xiuli; Li, Yangqiu
• Is Part Of: Journal of hematology & oncology. Volume 9:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Acute myeloid leukemia -- γδ T cells -- T cell receptor -- Clonality; Hematology -- Periodicals; Oncology -- Periodicals; Blood -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.994
• DOI: 10.1186/s13045-016-0353-3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1756-8722

Abstract

Abstract Background Recent data have shown that γδ T cells can act as mediators for immune defense against tumors. Our previous study has demonstrated that persisting clonally expandedTRDV4 T cells might be relatively beneficial for the outcome of patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, little is known about the distribution and clonality of theTRDV repertoire in T cell receptor (TCR) of γδ T cells and their effects on the clinical outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The aim of this study was to assess whether the oligoclonal expansion of TCRV δ T cells could be used as an immune biomarker for AML outcome. Findings γδ T cells were sorted from the peripheral blood of 30 patients with untreated AML and 12 healthy donors. The complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) sizes of eight TCRV δ subfamily genes (TRDV1 toTRDV8 ) were analyzed in sorted γδ T cells using RT-PCR and GeneScan. The most frequently expressedTRDV subfamilies in the AML patients wereTRDV8 (86.67 %) andTRDV 2 (83.33 %), and the frequencies forTRDV1, TRDV3, TRDV4, andTRDV6 were significantly lower than those in healthy individuals. The most frequent clonally expandedTRDV subfamilies in the AML patients includedTRDV8 (56.67 %) andTRDV4 (40 %). The clonal expansion frequencies of theTRDV2 andTRDV4 T cells were significantly higher than those in healthy individuals, whereas a significantly lowerTRDV1 clonal expansion frequency was observed in those with AML. Moreover, the oligoclones ofTRDV4 andTRDV8 were independent protective factors for complete remission. Furthermore, the oligoclonal expansion frequencies ofTRDV5 andTRDV6 in patients with relapse were significantly higher than those in non-recurrent cases. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, we characterized for the first time a significant alteration in the distribution and clonality of theTRDV subfamily members in γδ T cells sorted from AML patients. Clonally expandedTRDV4 andTRDV8 T cells might contribute to the immune response directed against AML, while oligoclonalTRDV5 andTRDV6 might occur in patients who undergo relapse. While the function of such γδ T cell clones requires further investigation, TRDV γδ T cell clones might be potential immune biomarkers for AML outcome.