Noda Yuri, Kishino Mitsunobu, Sato Sunao, Hirose Katsutoshi, Sakai Manabu, Fukuda Yasuo, Murakami Shumei, Toyosawa Satoru
Department of Oral Pathology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Japan.
Clinical Laboratory, Osaka University Dental Hospital, Suita, Japan.
J Clin Pathol. 2017 Feb;70(2):126-133. doi: 10.1136/jclinpath-2016-203754. Epub 2016 Jul 11.
Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a β-galactoside-binding protein that overexpresses in cancer and plays pivotal roles in tumour progression. Gal-1 regulates angiogenesis and invasiveness, and suppresses tumour immunity by inducing T cell apoptosis. Several studies have examined the relationship between Gal-1 and tumour immunosuppression in vivo, but they have not examined the clinicopathological relationship between Gal-1 expression and apoptotic T cell number in human tissue. In this study, we investigated the association between Gal-1 expression and apoptotic T cells of gingival squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC), as well as other clinicopathological factors.
Immunohistochemical investigation of 80 GSCC specimens using anti-Gal-1, anti-CD3, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-CD34, antipodoplanin and anticleaved caspase-3 (CC-3) antibodies was performed. Relative expression levels of CD3 and CC-3, as well as CD8 and CC-3 were assessed simultaneously by double immunostaining. Gal-1 expression and T cell apoptosis were evaluated in 6 high-power fields (3 in the tumour and 3 in the stroma).
Gal-1 expression in GSCC was significantly correlated with T cell infiltration (p=0.036), and apoptosis of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells (p<0.001). Moreover, Gal-1 expression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (p=0.021), histological differentiation (p<0.001) and overall survival rate (p=0.021).
These findings suggest that Gal-1 plays an important role in immune escape of GSCC cells, and Gal-1 expression level may be a useful clinicopathological prognostic marker for GSCC.
半乳糖凝集素-1（Gal-1）是一种β-半乳糖苷结合蛋白，在癌症中过度表达，并在肿瘤进展中起关键作用。Gal-1调节血管生成和侵袭性，并通过诱导T细胞凋亡抑制肿瘤免疫。多项研究已在体内研究了Gal-1与肿瘤免疫抑制之间的关系，但尚未研究Gal-1表达与人体组织中凋亡T细胞数量之间的临床病理关系。在本研究中，我们调查了Gal-1表达与牙龈鳞状细胞癌（GSCC）凋亡T细胞之间的关联，以及其他临床病理因素。
使用抗Gal-1、抗CD3、抗CD4、抗CD8、抗CD34、抗足板蛋白和抗裂解的半胱天冬酶-3（CC-3）抗体对80例GSCC标本进行免疫组织化学研究。通过双重免疫染色同时评估CD3和CC-3以及CD8和CC-3的相对表达水平。在6个高倍视野（肿瘤中3个，基质中3个）中评估Gal-1表达和T细胞凋亡。
GSCC中的Gal-1表达与T细胞浸润（p = 0.036）以及CD3 +和CD8 + T细胞的凋亡（p <0.001）显著相关。此外，Gal-1表达与淋巴结转移（p = 0.021）、组织学分化（p <0.001）和总生存率（p = 0.021）显著相关。
这些发现表明Gal-1在GSCC细胞的免疫逃逸中起重要作用，Gal-1表达水平可能是GSCC有用的临床病理预后标志物。
