Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV n. 7, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2013 May;62(5):851-62. doi: 10.1007/s00262-013-1392-z. Epub 2013 Jan 29.
CD39 is an ectoenzyme, present on different immune cell subsets, which mediates immunosuppressive functions catalyzing ATP degradation. It is not known whether CD39 is expressed and implicated in the activity of CD8+ regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg). In this study, CD39 expression and function was analyzed in both CD8+ and CD4+CD25(hi) Treg from the peripheral blood of healthy donors as well as from tumor specimens. CD39 was found expressed by both CD8+ (from the majority of healthy donors and tumor patients) and CD4+CD25(hi) Treg, and CD39 expression correlated with suppression activity mediated by CD8+ Treg. Importantly, CD39 counteraction remarkably inhibited the suppression activity of CD8+ Treg (both from peripheral blood and tumor microenvironment) suggesting that CD39-mediated inhibition constitutes a prevalent hallmark of their function. Collectively, these findings, unveiling a new mechanism of action for CD8+ Treg, provide new knowledge on intratumoral molecular pathways related to tumor immune escape, which could be exploited in the future for designing new biological tools for anticancer immune intervention.
CD39 是一种存在于不同免疫细胞亚群上的细胞外酶,通过催化 ATP 降解来介导免疫抑制功能。目前尚不清楚 CD39 是否在 CD8+调节性 T 淋巴细胞(Treg)的活性中表达和发挥作用。在这项研究中,我们分析了来自健康供体和肿瘤标本的外周血中 CD8+和 CD4+CD25(hi)Treg 细胞中 CD39 的表达和功能。结果发现 CD39 在 CD8+(来自大多数健康供体和肿瘤患者)和 CD4+CD25(hi)Treg 细胞中均有表达,并且 CD39 的表达与 CD8+Treg 介导的抑制活性相关。重要的是,CD39 的拮抗作用显著抑制了 CD8+Treg(来自外周血和肿瘤微环境)的抑制活性,这表明 CD39 介导的抑制作用是其功能的一个普遍特征。总之,这些发现揭示了 CD8+Treg 的一种新的作用机制,为与肿瘤免疫逃逸相关的肿瘤内分子途径提供了新的知识,这可能为未来设计抗癌免疫干预的新生物工具提供了依据。