Significant reduction of T-cell chemotaxis to MCP-1 in patients with primary and metastatic melanoma.

OBJECTIVE

To address whether circulating T-cells from the patients with primary and metastatic malignant melanoma show altered chemotaxis to monocyte-chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and its relation to tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) and metastasis.

METHODS

Chemotactic response of T-cells towards MCP-1 and immuno-histochemistry study of TIL and tumor-associated-macrophages (TAM) were investigated in patients with primary and metastatic melanoma compared to patients with basal cell carcinoma and healthy persons.

RESULTS

T-cells from patients with primary and metastatic melanoma showed a significantly decreased chemotactic migration towards MCP-1 and T-cells from patients with basal cell carcinoma showed normal chemotactic response. Immuno-histochemistry study showed that there was no correlation between the number of TIL and the decreased chemotaxis of circulating T-cells to MCP-1 in patients with primary melanoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Circulating T-cells from patients with primary and metastatic melanoma showed a MCP-1-specific decrease in chemotactic migration. This may be due to abnormal expression or modulation of MCP-1-receptor expression on these cells.