State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China and Department of Experimental Research, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
PLoS One. 2011 Mar 31;6(3):e18219. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018219.
The role of IL-17 producing cells in tumors is controversial. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic value of measuring tumor-infiltrating IL-17 producing cell levels in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Immunohistochemical staining was performed to investigate the levels of IL-17+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), as well as CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and CD57+ natural killer (NK) cells from 181 ESCC patients. The prognostic value of measuring the densities of IL-17+TILs and the correlation with CTLs and NK was evaluated. IL-17 producing cells were detected in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues. The IL-17 producing cells were major CD4 positive, but Foxp3 negative. The median level of IL-17+TILs was 3.90 cells/high power microscopic field (HPF). The density of IL-17 producing cells correlated negatively with T stage (P=0.042). The higher densities of tumor infiltrating IL-17+ lymphocytes were associated with better overall survival (P=0.031). Furthermore, we found that there were positive correlations between levels of IL-17 producing cells and the densities of CD8+cells, as well as CD57+cells (r=0.198, P=0.008 for CD8+ cells and r=0.261, P<0.001 for CD57+ cells, respectively). The prognosis analysis also showed that the higher levels of CD8+ CTLs and CD57+ NK cells correlated with better overall survival of ESCC patients.
Our study suggests that tumor infiltrating IL-17 producing cells in ESCC patients may have protective roles in the tumor microenvironment and may be treated as a prognostic marker for ESCC patients.
白细胞介素 17（IL-17）产生细胞在肿瘤中的作用存在争议。本研究旨在探讨人食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）中肿瘤浸润性 IL-17 产生细胞水平的预后价值。
方法/主要发现：对 181 例 ESCC 患者的肿瘤浸润性 IL-17+肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞（TILs）、CD8+细胞毒性 T 淋巴细胞（CTL）和 CD57+自然杀伤（NK）细胞水平进行免疫组织化学染色。评估了测量 IL-17+TILs 密度的预后价值以及与 CTLs 和 NK 的相关性。在食管鳞状细胞癌组织中检测到 IL-17 产生细胞。这些细胞主要为 CD4+阳性，但 Foxp3 阴性。IL-17+TILs 的中位数为 3.90 个高倍镜视野（HPF）。IL-17 产生细胞的密度与 T 分期呈负相关（P=0.042）。肿瘤浸润性 IL-17+淋巴细胞密度较高与总生存率提高相关（P=0.031）。此外，我们发现 IL-17 产生细胞水平与 CD8+细胞和 CD57+细胞密度之间存在正相关（r=0.198，P=0.008 用于 CD8+细胞；r=0.261，P<0.001 用于 CD57+细胞）。预后分析还表明，较高水平的 CD8+CTL 和 CD57+NK 细胞与 ESCC 患者的总生存率提高相关。
本研究表明，ESCC 患者肿瘤浸润性 IL-17 产生细胞可能在肿瘤微环境中具有保护作用，并可作为 ESCC 患者的预后标志物。
