Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Key Clinical Disciplines of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, People's Republic of China.
Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China.
Hum Cell. 2024 May;37(3):714-728. doi: 10.1007/s13577-024-01024-7. Epub 2024 Feb 15.
Tumor-infiltrating neutrophils play a crucial role in the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Here, we aimed to statistically quantify the plasticity of HNSCC-infiltrating N2/N1 neutrophils and examine its impacts on survival and immune infiltration landscape. A retrospective study of 80 patients who underwent curative surgical resection for HNSCC between 2014 and 2017 was conducted in this study. HNSCC-infiltrating neutrophil phenotypes were classified using immunofluorescence staining, and the N2/N1 neutrophil plasticity was evaluated via the ratio of N2/N1 neutrophils. We then assessed the correlations between N2/N1 neutrophil plasticity, clinicopathological characteristics, and immune infiltration landscape using rigorous statistical methods. Infiltration variations of N1 and N2 neutrophils were observed between the tumor nest (TN) and tumor stroma (TS), with TN exhibiting higher N2 neutrophil infiltration and lower N1 neutrophil infiltration. High ratios of N2/N1 neutrophils were correlated with advanced TNM stage, large tumor size and invasion of adjacent tissue. High infiltration of N2 neutrophils was associated with decreased overall and relapse-free survival, which were opposite for N1 neutrophils. The independent prognostic role of N2/N1 neutrophil plasticity, particularly within the TN region, was confirmed by multivariate analyses. Moreover, the ratio of N2/N1 neutrophils within the TN region showed correlations with high CD8 T cells infiltration and low FOXP3 Tregs infiltration. We identify HNSCC-infiltrating N2/N1 neutrophil plasticity as a crucial prognostic indictor which potentially reflects the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune escape landscape within HNSCC tissues. Further investigations and validations may provide novel therapeutic strategies for personalized immunomodulation in HNSCC patients.
肿瘤浸润中性粒细胞在头颈部鳞状细胞癌(HNSCC)的进展中起着至关重要的作用。在这里,我们旨在统计量化 HNSCC 浸润 N2/N1 中性粒细胞的可塑性,并研究其对生存和免疫浸润景观的影响。本研究对 2014 年至 2017 年间接受根治性手术切除的 80 例 HNSCC 患者进行了回顾性研究。使用免疫荧光染色对 HNSCC 浸润中性粒细胞表型进行分类,并通过 N2/N1 中性粒细胞比例评估 N2/N1 中性粒细胞的可塑性。然后,我们使用严格的统计方法评估了 N2/N1 中性粒细胞可塑性与临床病理特征和免疫浸润景观之间的相关性。在肿瘤巢(TN)和肿瘤基质(TS)之间观察到 N1 和 N2 中性粒细胞的浸润变化,TN 中 N2 中性粒细胞浸润较高,而 N1 中性粒细胞浸润较低。高比例的 N2/N1 中性粒细胞与较晚的 TNM 分期、较大的肿瘤大小和邻近组织浸润有关。N2 中性粒细胞的高浸润与总生存和无复发生存率降低相关,而 N1 中性粒细胞则相反。多变量分析证实了 N2/N1 中性粒细胞可塑性的独立预后作用,特别是在 TN 区域内。此外,TN 区域内 N2/N1 中性粒细胞的比例与高 CD8 T 细胞浸润和低 FOXP3 Tregs 浸润相关。我们确定 HNSCC 浸润的 N2/N1 中性粒细胞可塑性是一个关键的预后指标,它可能反映了 HNSCC 组织中的肿瘤微环境(TME)和免疫逃逸景观。进一步的研究和验证可能为 HNSCC 患者的个性化免疫调节提供新的治疗策略。