Chemoresistance in mesenchymal lung cancer cells is correlated to high regulatory T cell presence in the tumor microenvironment. Issue 7 (8th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Li‐Na; Xin, Tong; Chen, Mo; Gao, Peng
• Is Part Of: IUBMB life. Volume 71:Issue 7(2019)
• Page Start: 986
• Page End: 991
• Publication Date: 2019-05-08
• Subjects: lung cancer -- microenvironment -- Treg -- IL2RA -- CDH1; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; 572.8
• DOI: 10.1002/iub.2043
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1521-6543

Abstract

Abstract: Most deaths due to lung cancer are a result of metastatic progression. One major problem in treating patients with lung cancer is either the inherent or acquired resistance to chemotherapy. Role of tumor microenvironment in disease progression and resistance to chemotherapy is being increasingly appreciated and reported for various cancers. Hence, the objective of the current study was to define the lung cancer tumor microenvironment. Biopsy tissue specimens and blood samples were collected from stage I–IV lung patients ( n = 53). Epithelial and mesenchymal A549 cells were used to test chemosensitivity. CD3+ T cells are the major tumor‐infiltrating T lymphocyte subsets in patients with lung cancer, which were independent of disease stage. Functional analysis indicated high expression of the CD4+ helper T cells and low expression of the CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in lung cancer tissue compared to tumor adjacent normal tissue. Within the CD4+ T cell subset, there seems to be significant increase in the regulator T cells (Tregs) which are known to help the tumor in evading the immune system. CDH1 (encoding the epithelial cell marker E‐cadherin) and IL2RA (encoding the Treg marker CD25) expression in patients with stage IV lung cancer that were resistant to cisplatin treatment showed an inverse correlation between IL2RA (high) and CDH1 (low) expression. Our results indicate that lung tumor is enriched in Tregs which might potentially explain how lung tumors evade the immune system. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 2019