Boulassel Mohamed-Rachid, Al Qarni Zahra, Burney Ikram, Khan Hammad, Al-Zubaidi Abeer, Al Naamani Amal, Al-Hinai Huda, Al-Badi Amira, Qureshi Rizwan Nabi, Panjwani Vinodh, Al Farsi Khalil
Department of Allied Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Sultanate of Oman.
Department of Haematology, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Muscat 123, Sultanate of Oman.
Mol Clin Oncol. 2018 Dec;9(6):677-682. doi: 10.3892/mco.2018.1732. Epub 2018 Oct 2.
Due to their immunoregulatory properties, several specialized cell subsets, including regulatory T (Treg), invariant natural killer T (iNKT) and regulatory B (Breg) cells, are involved in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, the interaction between various cells remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of Treg, iNKT and Breg cell subsets and their interrelationships in the peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) of patients with B-cell NHL who received rituximab-based regimens and achieved a complete remission. A total of 20 patients and 20 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were prospectively enrolled for investigation of Treg, iNKT and Breg cell subsets in PB and BM by flow cytometry and cell culture. Prior to administration of combination chemotherapy with rituximab, the patients had lower levels of Breg cells and, to a lesser degree, Treg cells, but not iNKT cells, in PB compared with controls. Compartmental differences in the levels of Treg and Breg cell subsets, but not iNKT cells, were observed between PB and BM, suggesting an increase in trafficking through the blood of these regulatory cell subsets to the marrow. Following complete remission, the levels of circulating Treg, iNKT and Breg cell subsets increased. The levels of Treg cells were not significantly associated with iNKT and Breg cell subsets, although negative correlations were observed. Taken together, these results may provide new insights into the potential role of regulatory cell subsets in patients with B-cell NHL. However, whether the observed differences between PB and BM may affect clinical outcomes requires further investigation.
由于其免疫调节特性，包括调节性T（Treg）细胞、不变自然杀伤T（iNKT）细胞和调节性B（Breg）细胞在内的几种特殊细胞亚群参与了非霍奇金淋巴瘤（NHL）的发病机制。然而，各种细胞之间的相互作用仍有待阐明。本研究的目的是评估接受基于利妥昔单抗方案并实现完全缓解的B细胞NHL患者外周血（PB）和骨髓（BM）中Treg、iNKT和Breg细胞亚群的水平及其相互关系。通过流式细胞术和细胞培养，前瞻性纳入了20例患者和20例年龄和性别匹配的健康对照，以研究PB和BM中的Treg、iNKT和Breg细胞亚群。在使用利妥昔单抗进行联合化疗之前，与对照组相比，患者PB中的Breg细胞水平较低，Treg细胞水平在较小程度上也较低，但iNKT细胞水平无差异。在PB和BM之间观察到Treg和Breg细胞亚群水平存在区室差异，但iNKT细胞无差异，这表明这些调节性细胞亚群通过血液向骨髓的迁移增加。完全缓解后，循环中的Treg、iNKT和Breg细胞亚群水平升高。尽管观察到负相关，但Treg细胞水平与iNKT和Breg细胞亚群无显著相关性。综上所述，这些结果可能为调节性细胞亚群在B细胞NHL患者中的潜在作用提供新的见解。然而，PB和BM之间观察到的差异是否会影响临床结果需要进一步研究。
