Auer Katharina, Bachmayr-Heyda Anna, Sukhbaatar Nyamdelger, Aust Stefanie, Schmetterer Klaus G, Meier Samuel M, Gerner Christopher, Grimm Christoph, Horvat Reinhard, Pils Dietmar
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Vienna, Austria.
Department for Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Oncotarget. 2016 Sep 20;7(38):61336-61354. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.11038.
The immune system plays a critical role in cancer progression and overall survival. Still, it is unclear if differences in the immune response are associated with different patterns of tumor spread apparent in high grade serous ovarian cancer patients and previously described by us. In this study we aimed to assess the role of the immune system in miliary (widespread, millet-sized lesions) and non-miliary (bigger, exophytically growing implants) tumor spread. To achieve this we comprehensively analyzed tumor tissues, blood, and ascites from 41 patients using immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, RNA sequencing, multiplexed immunoassays, and immunohistochemistry. Results showed that inflammation markers were systemically higher in miliary. In contrast, in non-miliary lymphocyte and monocyte/macrophage infiltration into the ascites was higher as well as the levels of PD-1 expression in tumor associated cytotoxic T-lymphocytes and PD-L1 expression in tumor cells. Furthermore, in ascites of miliary patients more epithelial tumor cells were present compared to non-miliary, possibly due to the active down-regulation of anti-tumor responses by B-cells and regulatory T-cells. Summarizing, adaptive immune responses prevailed in patients with non-miliary spread, whereas in patients with miliary spread a higher involvement of the innate immune system was apparent while adaptive responses were counteracted by immune suppressive cells and factors.
免疫系统在癌症进展和总体生存中起着关键作用。然而,免疫反应的差异是否与高级别浆液性卵巢癌患者中明显的不同肿瘤播散模式相关,以及我们之前所描述的情况,仍不清楚。在本研究中,我们旨在评估免疫系统在粟粒性(广泛分布、粟粒大小的病灶)和非粟粒性(更大、外生性生长的植入物)肿瘤播散中的作用。为实现这一目标,我们使用免疫荧光、流式细胞术、RNA测序、多重免疫测定和免疫组织化学,对41例患者的肿瘤组织、血液和腹水进行了全面分析。结果显示,粟粒性患者的炎症标志物在全身水平更高。相比之下,在非粟粒性患者中,腹水中淋巴细胞和单核细胞/巨噬细胞浸润更高,肿瘤相关细胞毒性T淋巴细胞中的PD-1表达水平以及肿瘤细胞中的PD-L1表达水平也更高。此外,与非粟粒性患者相比,粟粒性患者腹水中存在更多的上皮肿瘤细胞,这可能是由于B细胞和调节性T细胞对抗肿瘤反应的主动下调所致。总之,适应性免疫反应在非粟粒性播散患者中占主导,而在粟粒性播散患者中,先天免疫系统的参与度更高,同时适应性反应被免疫抑制细胞和因子抵消。