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Lee SH, Pankaj A, Rickelt S, Ting D, Ferrone C, Patil DT, Yilmaz O, Berger D, Deshpande V, Yilmaz O. β2-microglobulin expression is associated with aggressive histology, activated tumor immune milieu, and outcome in colon carcinoma. Am J Clin Pathol 2024:aqae066. [PMID: 38869306 DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqae066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We sought to assess the expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins and β2-microglobulin (B2M) in tumor cells and the relationship with immune microenvironment and outcome in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS A total of 953 CRC cases were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for HLA class I, HLA class II, and B2M. The expression level of these biomarkers was correlated with clinicopathologic information, BRAF V600E and mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, and the quantitated expression levels of immune cells (CD8 and CD163) and immune regulatory proteins (FoxP3, programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 [PD-L1], and LAG3). RESULTS We found that B2M-low tumors were statistically correlated with aggressive histologic features, including higher stage, higher grade, extramural venous invasion, perineural invasion, and distant metastasis. Expression of B2M was positively correlated (R2 = 0.3) and significantly associated with MMR-deficient tumors (P < .001); B2M-low tumors were also associated with an "immune cold"' microenvironment, including a reduced number of immune cells (CD8 and CD163), reduced expression of immune regulatory proteins by immune cells (PD-L1, FoxP3, and LAG3), and reduced tumor cell expression of PD-L1. These B2M-low tumors correlated with lower disease-specific survival (P = .018), a finding that maintained significance only for the proficient MMR cohort (P = .037). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that B2M expression may support predictive models for both outcome and checkpoint inhibitor therapy treatment response for colorectal adenocarcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo Hyun Lee
- Department of Pathology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, US
| | - Amaya Pankaj
- Departments of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, US
| | - Steffen Rickelt
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, US
| | - David Ting
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA, US
- Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
| | - Cristina Ferrone
- Departments of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, US
| | - Deepa T Patil
- Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, US
| | - Omer Yilmaz
- Departments of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, US
- Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
| | - David Berger
- Division of General Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, US
| | - Vikram Deshpande
- Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, US
| | - Osman Yilmaz
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, US
- Departments of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
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Dunne MR, Phelan JJ, Michielsen AJ, Maguire AA, Dunne C, Martin P, Noonan S, Tosetto M, Geraghty R, Fennelly D, Sheahan K, Ryan EJ, O'Sullivan J. Characterising the prognostic potential of HLA-DR during colorectal cancer development. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2020; 69:1577-1588. [PMID: 32306077 PMCID: PMC7347515 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-020-02571-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
HLA-DR, an MHC class II molecule that mediates antigen presentation, is a favourable prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the dynamics and location of HLA-DR expression during CRC development are unclear. We aimed to define HLA-DR expression by immunohistochemistry in colorectal epithelium and stromal tissue at different stages of cancer development, assessing non-neoplastic colorectal adenocarcinoma-adjacent tissue, adenomas and carcinoma tissues, and to associate HLA-DR levels with clinical outcomes. Patients with higher than median HLA-DR expression survived at least twice as long as patients with lower expression. This association was significant for HLA-DR staining in the colorectal carcinoma epithelium (n = 152, p = 0.011, HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.15-3.15) and adjacent non-neoplastic epithelium (n = 152, p < 0.001, HR 2.7, 95% CI 1.59-4.66), but not stroma. In stage II cases, however, the prognostic value of HLA-DR expression was significant only in adjacent non-neoplastic tissues, for both epithelium (n = 63, p = 0.015, HR 3.6, 95% CI 1.279-10.25) and stroma (n = 63, p = 0.018, HR 5.07, 95% CI 1.32-19.49). HLA-DR was lower in carcinoma tissue compared to matched adenomas (n = 35), in epithelium (p < 0.01) and stroma (p < 0.001). HLA-DR was further reduced in late-stage carcinoma (n = 101) compared to early stage (n = 105), in epithelium (p < 0.001) and stroma (p < 0.01). HLA-DR expression was lower (p < 0.05) in the adjacent non-neoplastic epithelium of patients with cancer recurrence. We demonstrate a progressive loss of HLA-DR in epithelial and stromal tissue compartments during CRC development and show prognostic ability in carcinoma-adjacent non-neoplastic tissues, highlighting the importance of this molecule in the anti-cancer immune response. These findings may have wider implications for immunotherapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret R Dunne
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - James J Phelan
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Adriana J Michielsen
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Aoife A Maguire
- Department of Histopathology, Trinity College, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Cara Dunne
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Petra Martin
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Sinead Noonan
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Miriam Tosetto
- Centre for Colorectal Disease, Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Robert Geraghty
- Centre for Colorectal Disease, Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - David Fennelly
- Centre for Colorectal Disease, Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Kieran Sheahan
- Centre for Colorectal Disease, Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Elizabeth J Ryan
- Centre for Colorectal Disease, Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland
- Health Research Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Jacintha O'Sullivan
- Department of Surgery, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
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Pandha H, Rigg A, John J, Lemoine N. Loss of expression of antigen-presenting molecules in human pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cancer cell lines. Clin Exp Immunol 2007; 148:127-35. [PMID: 17302733 PMCID: PMC1868855 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2006.03289.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumours evade immune recognition and destruction through loss or down-regulation of expression of antigen processing and antigen-presenting molecules such as the human leucocyte antigen (HLA class I) and transporter for antigen presentation (TAP). This study examined the expression of HLA class I, class II and TAP in human pancreatic carcinoma tissue and 19 immortalized pancreatic cancer lines using a panel of antibodies directed against allele-specific as well as monomorphic determinants of these molecules. In tissue samples, reduction or loss of HLA class I and TAP was observed in 76% of cases, loss or down-regulation of TAP expression in 53%. In pancreatic cell lines down-regulation or loss of class I and TAP expression was also observed frequently. However, reductions in class I and TAP expression were reversible upon exposure to interferon-gamma in vitro, suggesting a regulatory rather than structural defect in these genes. De novo class II expression was observed in 26% of tumours and 42% of cell lines and may reflect the differentiation status of the cells. The high rate of class I and TAP loss has implications for immunotherapy strategies for pancreatic cancer, as such changes could facilitate a selective growth advantage for malignant cells. However, the reinduction of expression of these molecules with cytokines such as interferon-gamma may ultimately allow their cytotoxic T cell-mediated destruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Pandha
- Department of Oncology, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Surrey, Daphne Jackson Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7WG, UK.
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Vora AR, Rodgers S, Parker AJ, Start R, Rees RC, Murray AK. An immunohistochemical study of altered immunomodulatory molecule expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Cancer 1997; 76:836-44. [PMID: 9328140 PMCID: PMC2228257 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.1997.472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
For the presentation of peptide antigens to cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes of the immune system, the expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on the cell surface is necessary. There is increasing evidence that surface HLA class I antigen expression is altered in a variety of human tumours by either loss or down-regulation of these molecules, which may be a strategy for evasion of immunosurveillance by malignant cells. This study has examined the expression of HLA class I molecules in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) specimens by immunohistochemistry, using a wide panel of antibodies directed against allele-specific as well as monomorphic determinants of these molecules. The expression of TAP proteins, HLA-DR and the co-stimulatory molecule ICAM-1 were also studied. In addition, the expression of the tumour-associated antigens (TAA) p53 and MAGE genes was determined. Aberrant allelic expression of HLA class I antigens was detected in 17 out of 34 (50%) of the specimens stained, whereas HLA class I expression determined by W6/32 staining was found to be heterogeneous in only 2 out of 34 (6%) cases. Decreased expression of ICAM-1 was observed in 12 out of 34 (35%) tumour specimens and de novo expression of HLA-DR (HLA class II) by carcinoma cells in 13 out of 34 (38%) cases. Aberrant expression of HLA class I antigens was frequently observed in cases in which MAGE genes and p53 overexpression were detected. The altered expression of these immunomodulatory molecules in HNSCC may affect prognosis and has important implications for peptide-based immunotherapy strategies for these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- A R Vora
- School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, UK
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