CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ lymphocyte subgroups and their surface receptors NKG2D and NKG2A in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Prognostic implications of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have demonstrated potential as prognostic biomarkers across various cancer types. However, their prognostic implications in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain ambiguous.

Methods

An exhaustive electronic search was executed across the Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases to locate relevant studies published up until December 19, 2023. Studies were eligible if they assessed the association between TILs and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in NSCLC patients. The OS and DFS were subsequently extracted for analysis. The prognostic significance of TILs was evaluated by calculating the Pooled Hazard Ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs).

Results

The meta-analysis incorporated 60 studies, which collectively included 15829 NSCLC patients. The collective analysis indicated that NSCLC patients exhibiting TILs infiltration demonstrated a significantly improved OS(HR: 0.67; 95%CI: 0.55-0.81). Subgroup analyses, based on TIL subtypes (CD8+, CD3+ and CD4+), consistently revealed a favorable prognostic impact on OS. However, it was observed that FOXP3+ was correlated with a poor OS (HR: 1.35; 95% CI: 0.87-2.11).

Conclusion

This comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis substantiate the prognostic significance of TILs in patients diagnosed with NSCLC. Notably, elevated TILs infiltration correlates with a favorable prognosis, particularly among CD8+, CD3+ and CD4+ subtypes.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023468089 PROSPERO, identifier CRD42023468089.

eHSP90α in front-line therapy in EGFR exon 19 deletion and 21 Leu858Arg mutations in advanced lung adenocarcinoma

PURPOSE

Extracellular heat shock protein 90 AA1(eHSP90α) is intricately linked to tumor progression and prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the difference in the value of eHSP90α in post-treatment response assessment and prognosis prediction between exon 19 deletion(19DEL) and exon 21 Leu858Arg(L858R) mutation types in lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD).

METHODS

We analyzed the relationship between the expression of eHSP90α and clinicopathological features in 89 patients with L858R mutation and 196 patients with 19DEL mutation in LUAD. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to determine their respective cut-off values and analyze the relationship between eHSP90α expression and the survival time of the two mutation types. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of biomarkers. Then, the prognostic model was developed using the univariate-Cox multivariate-Cox and LASSO-multivariate logistic methods.

RESULTS

In LUAD patients, eHSP90α was positively correlated with carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA), carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125), and carbohydrate antigen 153(CA153). The truncated values of eHSP90α in L858R and 19DEL patients were 44.5 ng/mL and 40.8 ng/mL, respectively. Among L858R patients, eHSP90α had the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.765), and higher eHSP90α and T helper cells(Th cells) expression were significantly related to shorter overall survival(OS) and worse treatment response. Also, high eHSP90a expression and short progression-free survival(PFS) were significantly correlated. Among 19DEL patients, CEA had the best diagnostic efficacy (AUC = 0.734), and CEA and Th cells were independent prognostic factors that predicted shorter OS. Furthermore, high CA125 was significantly associated with short PFS and poor curative effect.

CONCLUSIONS

eHSP90α has a better prognostic value in LUAD L858R patients than 19DEL, which provides a new idea for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Association of immune cells and the risk of esophageal cancer: A Mendelian randomization study in a East Asian population

Immunotherapy has been used in esophageal cancer (EC), but the causal relationship between EC and immune cells is not clear. Although the cellular phenotype has been reported as a biomarker for immunotherapy, the biomarker studies for immunotherapy in EC still face great challenges. Comprehensive 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to determine the causal association between immune cell signatures and EC in this study. Based on publicly available genetic data, we explored causal associations between 731 immune cell signatures and EC risk. EC had no statistically significant effect on immunophenotypes. Nine immunophenotype types were positively associated with the risk of EC: CD20-%B cell, CD20% lymphocytes, CD25 on IgD- CD27-, CD25 on IgD+ CD24+, CD27 on IgD+ CD24+, CD28+ CD45RA- CD8br AC, CD3 on TD CD8br, IgD-CD38dim%B cells, and Mo MDSC AC. In addition, a total of 15 immunophenotypes were identified as causally associated with EC. IgD+ CD38- %B cell, IgD- CD24- %lymphocyte, CD19 on IgD- CD38dim, CD20 on IgD+ CD24+, CD62L-myeloid DC AC, CD4+ AC, Lymphocyte %leukocyte, CD3 on HLA-DR+ T cell, CD3 on CD45RA- CD4+, HVEM on naive CD4+ AC, HVEM on CD45RA- CD4+, CD4 on TD CD4+, CD4 on CD4 Treg, and CD4 on CD39+ resting Treg, and CD4 on activated & secreting Treg. Our study has demonstrated the close connection between immune cells and EC by genetic means, thus providing guidance for future clinical research.

Annihilation of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by NKG2D CAR-T Cells Produced from T Cells from Peripheral Blood of Healthy Donors

Some progress has been made in immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells targeting NKG2D-NKG2DL with the purpose of eradicating solid tumors. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been shown to express NKG2DL. This study hence evaluated the therapeutic effect of NKG2D CAR-T cells on NSCLC. Accordingly, NKG2D CAR-T cells were obtained from diverse human autologous T cell sources. T cells from peripheral blood T lymphocytes of healthy volunteers (without NKG2D CAR insertion) were used as NT-T cells. Coculture of effector cells (CAR-T cells or NT-T cells) with target cells (NSCLC cells such as PC-9 or NCL-H460 cells) was performed at different ratios. The cytotoxicity of CAR-T cells was examined using lactate dehydrogenase assay kits. Murine xenograft assay was conducted to investigate the in vivo antitumor effect of CAR-T cells. Cytokines secreted from CAR-T cells were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CAR-T cell infiltration into xenografts was observed through immunochemical assay. Based on the results, NKG2DL was highly expressed in NSCLC cells. Compared with NT-T cells, NKG2D CAR-T cells from different sources of T cells delivered stronger toxicity, and secreted more effector and memory function-related cytokines to NSCLC cells, and those from the peripheral blood of healthy donors (H-T cells) exhibited the strongest effect. Furthermore, compared with NT-T cells, H-T cells and NKG2D CAR-T cells from NSCLC patients' peripheral blood diminished tumor, improved survival, increased body weight and tumor-infiltrating capacity, and upregulated serum IFN-γ level in NOG mice. Collectively speaking, NKG2D CAR-T cells exhibit a robust effect on eradicating NSCLC in a NKG2DL-dependent manner, thus making themselves a promising therapeutic candidate for NSCLC patients.

Prediction of CD3 T cells and CD8 T cells expression levels in non-small cell lung cancer based on radiomic features of CT images

Background

In this work, radiomics characteristics based on CT scans were used to build a model for preoperative evaluation of CD3 and CD8 T cells expression levels in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Two radiomics models for evaluating tumor-infiltrating CD3 and CD8 T cells were created and validated using computed tomography (CT) images and pathology information from NSCLC patients. From January 2020 to December 2021, 105 NSCLC patients with surgical and histological confirmation underwent this retrospective analysis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to determine CD3 and CD8 T cells expression, and all patients were classified into groups with high and low CD3 T cells expression and high and low CD8 T cells expression. The CT area of interest had 1316 radiomic characteristics that were retrieved. The minimal absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) technique was used to choose components from the IHC data, and two radiomics models based on CD3 and CD8 T cells abundance were created. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC), calibration curve, and decision curve analyses were used to examine the models' ability to discriminate and their clinical relevance (DCA).

Results

A CD3 T cells radiomics model with 10 radiological characteristics and a CD8 T cells radiomics model with 6 radiological features that we created both demonstrated strong discrimination in the training and validation cohorts. The CD3 radiomics model has an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.943 (95% CI 0.886-1), sensitivities, specificities, and accuracy of 96%, 89%, and 93%, respectively, in the validation cohort. The AUC of the CD8 radiomics model was 0.837 (95% CI 0.745-0.930) in the validation cohort, with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values of 70%, 93%, and 80%, respectively. Patients with high levels of CD3 and CD8 expression had better radiographic results than patients with low levels of expression in both cohorts (p<0.05). Both radiomic models were therapeutically useful, as demonstrated by DCA.

Conclusions

When making judgments on therapeutic immunotherapy, CT-based radiomic models can be utilized as a non-invasive way to evaluate the expression of tumor-infiltrating CD3 and CD8 T cells in NSCLC patients.

The Effect of Microwave Ablation Combined with Anti-PD-1 Monoclonal Antibody on T Cell Subsets and Long-Term Prognosis in Patients Suffering from Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Objective

This research is aimed at studying the effect of microwave ablation combined with the antiprogrammed death- (PD-) 1 monoclonal antibody on T cell subsets and long-term prognosis in patients suffering from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Employing the random number table technique, a total of 122 NSCLC patients who received treatment at our hospital between May 2015 and June 2019 were selected and assigned to the observation group and the control group, and each group comprised 61 patients (n = 61). While the control group received only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody treatment, the observation group received microwave ablation in combination with anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody. The clinical efficacy was observed for both groups. The levels of T cell subsets (CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+), serum tumor markers (squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), cytokeratin Ig fragment (CYFRA21-1), and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), protease C (PKC), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) mRNA expression between the two groups were compared. The frequency of adverse reactions was observed in both groups. The survival time of both the groups was recorded over the course of three years of follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier method was employed for analyzing the survival of both the control and the observation group.

Results

The response rate (RR) of the observation group (80.33%) was considerably greater in comparison to that of the control group (62.30%) (P < 0.05). Following treatment, the observation group's levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, SCCA, CyFRA21-1, and CEA and the mRNA expressions of NF-κB, PKC, and MAPK were superior to those of the control group, with statistical significances (all P < 0.05). Between the two groups, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of adverse reactions (P > 0.05). The observation group had greater 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates (57.38%, 39.34%, and 29.51%) than the control group (32.79%, 18.03%, and 8.20%), with statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Microwave ablation in combination with an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody could effectively improve the level of T cell subsets and serum tumor markers in NSCLC patients, resulting in a long-term prognosis of patients with good therapeutic effect and safety.

Impacts of Mycoplasma loads and lung lesions on immune and hematological statuses of pigs in an eight-breed cross heterogeneous population

Developments of pulmonary diseases, often accompanied by infections of bacteria, severely affect the meat production and welfare of pigs. This study investigated 307 pigs at age of 240 d from an eight-breed cross reared under standardized housing conditions for associations among the extent of lung lesions, bacteria load inferred from 16S rRNA sequencing of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, as well as 57 immune cells and 25 hematological traits. We showed that the pigs under study suffered substantial and varied lung lesions, and the Mycoplasma is the most associated bacteria genera. At a false discovery rate of 0.05 (FDR < 0.05), the severity of lung lesions were significantly associated with greater CD8+ to CD3+ cell ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and standard deviation of red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW-SD), and lower CD4-CD8-/CD3+, CD3+CD4-CD8-/PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and CD14-CD16-/PBMCs cell ratios, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, lymphocyte count, and lymphocyte count percentage, reflecting an status of inflammation, immune suppression, and hypoxia of the pigs accompanying the progression of the lung lesions. The Mycoplasma abundance showed positive correlations with neutrophil count, neutrophil count percentage, NLR, monocyte count, coefficient of variation in red blood cell volume distribution width , and RDW-SD, and negative correlations with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, lymphocyte count, and lymphocyte count percentage; these correlations are largely consistent with those of lung lesions, supporting the comorbidity of lung lesions and Mycoplasma infection. We also observed nonlinear associations that sharp increases in neutrophil count and neutrophil count percentage occurred only when Mycoplasma abundance raised above the population-average level. The results provide helpful insights into the changes of host immune status in response to Mycoplasma relevant lung diseases in pigs.

Astilbin promotes the induction of regulatory NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells through the PI3K, STAT3, and MAPK signaling pathways

Astilbin is a potential agent for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and has a protective effect in mice with DSS-induced colitis. NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells are a subpopulation of regulatory T cells that produce TGF-β1 and IL-10. Whether astilbin directly promotes the induction of NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells and whether these astilbin-stimulated T cells exert an immune-regulatory role remain unclear. Here, we show that astilbin efficiently induces the production of NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells with high expressions of TGF-β1, IL-10, CCR6, and CCR9 in a dose-dependent manner ex vivo. These regulatory T cells also substantially inhibit the activities of CD8+ T cells and macrophages. Intraperitoneal injection of astilbin ameliorates the severity of colitis with an increase in the frequency of NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells in the colon tissue of DSS-treated mice. Moreover, adoptive transfer of NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells induced by astilbin remarkably protects against the onset of DSS-induced colitis. Finally, the PI3K, STAT3, and MAPK signaling pathways are involved in the induction of NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells by astilbin. Taken together, our study elucidates a new immune-regulatory mechanism of astilbin by inducing the regulatory NK1.1- CD4+ NKG2D+ T cells and indicates a potential clinical use of astilbin for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Kanglaite Injection Combined with Chemotherapy versus Chemotherapy Alone for the Improvement of Clinical Efficacy and Immune Function in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Recent advances have shown that immune checkpoint inhibitors are emerging as promising therapeutic targets to improve the quality of life in cancer patients. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of Kanglaite injection (KLTi) combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone on clinical efficacy, immune function, and safety for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Several electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Wan-Fang, VMIS, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, and MEDLINE, as well as grey literatures, were comprehensively searched from January 2000 to November 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting outcomes of clinical efficacy and immune function were collected according to their inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook 5.2 was applied to assess the risk of bias of included trials. STATA 13.0 and Review Manager 5.3 software were used for meta-analysis. Twenty-five RCTs comprising 2151 patients meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Meta-analysis showed that compared with chemotherapy alone, KLTi plus the same chemotherapy significantly improved clinical efficacy, including complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease, as well as immune function, including CD³⁺, CD⁴⁺, CD⁸⁺, and CD⁴⁺/CD⁸⁺. There was a significant reduction in nausea and vomiting, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia in combination treatments. However, the outcomes were limited because of the low quality and small sample size of the included studies. In conclusion, this work might provide beneficial evidence of KLTi combined with chemotherapy for improving clinical efficacy and immune function, as well as reducing the incidence of adverse events in advanced NSCLC patients. KLTi might be a beneficial therapeutic method for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Due to the quality of the data, more rigorous and well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.

CD8+ T Cells Form the Predominant Subset of NKG2A+ Cells in Human Lung Cancer

Background: NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor of both T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Persistent activation promotes T cells and NK cells to express NKG2A and results in the progression of chronic infection and cancer. However, the characteristics and subsets of NKG2A⁺ lymphocytes in human lung cancer are still unclear.

Methods: Here, we used the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource database and immune profiling of paired biospecimens to uncover the correlation between NKG2A expression and immune infiltration levels in human cancer as well as the characteristics of NKG2A⁺ lymphocytes in human lung cancer.

Results: We found that KLRC1 expression was especially correlated with CD8⁺ T-cell infiltration levels in 34 types of human cancer through the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource database. Moreover, NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells were the predominant subset of NKG2A⁺ lymphocytes in human lung cancer. In contrast, the NKG2A⁺ NK cells were decreased in tumors compared with the paired normal lung tissue. Tumor-infiltrating NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells expressed tissue-resident memory T cell (T_RM cell) and exhausted T-cell markers. Cytokines and cytotoxic molecules secreted by tumor-infiltrating NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells were significantly lower than those secreted by NKG2A⁻ CD8⁺ T cells in vitro. When stimulated with T-cell receptor activator, tumor-infiltrating NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells could secrete large amounts of granzyme B.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that tumor-infiltrating NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells form the predominant subset of NKG2A⁺ cells in human lung cancer and suggest that targeting NKG2A⁺ CD8⁺ T cells is a promising approach for future anti-lung cancer immunotherapy.

The role of natural killer cells in hepatocellular carcinoma development and treatment: A narrative review

A major obstacle for treatment of HCC is the inadequate efficacy and limitation of the available therapeutic options. Despite the recent advances in developing novel treatment options, HCC still remains one of the major causes of cancer morbidity and mortality around the world. Achieving effective treatment and eradication of HCC is a challenging task, however recent studies have shown that targeting Natural Killer cells, as major regulators of immune system, can help with the complete treatment of HCC, restoration of normal liver function and subsequently higher survival rate of HCC patients. Studies have shown that decrease in the frequency of NK cells, their dysfunction due to several factors such as dysregulation of receptors and their ligands, and imbalance of different types of inhibitory and stimulating microRNA expression is associated with higher rate of HCC progression and development, and poor survival outcome. Here in our review, we mainly focused on the importance of NK cells in HCC development and treatment.

Regulation of NKG2D+CD8+ T-cell-mediated antitumor immune surveillance: Identification of a novel CD28 activation-mediated, STAT3 phosphorylation-dependent mechanism

The natural killer (NK) group 2D (NKG2D) receptor, which displays on mouse and human NK cells, activates CD8⁺ T cells and small subsets of other T cells. NKG2D⁺CD8⁺ T cells play critical roles in both innate and adaptive immunity upon engagement with NKG2D ligands to eliminate tumor and infected cells. Despite the important role of NKG2D⁺CD8⁺ T cells in immune surveillance, the mechanisms of how NKG2D expression on CD8⁺ T cells is regulated remain poorly defined. We treated mouse and human CD8⁺ T cells with CD80 recombinant protein, plus a pharmacologic model with small molecular inhibitors to determine which signaling pathway leads to NKG2D regulation on CD8⁺T cells. This study revealed that CD28 activation gives rise to sustained NKG2D expression on both mouse and human CD8⁺ T cells in a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation-dependent manner. Further, we found that CD28 activation stimulated sustained activation of the tyrosine kinase Lck, which recruits and triggers Janus kinase/STAT3 signaling to phosphorylate STAT3, and in turn increases NKG2D expression. Moreover, NKG2D induction on CD8⁺ T cells exerts cytolytic activity against target tumor cells in vitro, as well as significantly improves the antitumor therapeutic effects in vivo in an NKG2D-dependent manner. Taken together, these results elucidated a novel mechanism of NKG2D regulation by phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) on CD8⁺ T cells upon CD28 activation. This mechanism may shed light on the effectiveness of CD80-based, NKG2D-dependent antitumor immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy of DC-CIK cells enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy for solid cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in Chinese patients

OBJECTIVE

Professional antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, components of anti-cancer therapy, have shown clinical benefits and potential to overcome chemotherapeutic resistance. To evaluate whether DC-CIK cell-based therapy improves the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy, we reviewed the literature on DC-CIK cells and meta-analyzed randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

METHODS

We searched several databases and selected studies using predefined criteria. RCTs that applied chemotherapy with and without DC-CIK cells separately in two groups were included. Odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) were reported to measure the pooled effect.

RESULTS

Twelve reported RCTs (826 patients), which were all performed on Chinese patients, were included. Combination therapy exhibited better data than chemotherapy: 1-year overall survival (OS) (OR=0.22, P<0.01), 2-year OS (OR=0.28, P<0.01), 3-year OS (OR=0.41, P<0.01), 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) (OR=0.16, P<0.05), 3-year DFS (OR=0.32, P<0.01), objective response rate (ORR) (OR=0.54, P<0.01), and disease control rate (DCR) (OR=0.46, P<0.01). Moreover, the levels of CD3(+) T-lymphocytes (MD=-11.65, P<0.05) and CD4(+) T-lymphocytes (MD=-8.18, P<0.01) of the combination group were higher.

CONCLUSIONS

Immunotherapy of DC-CIK cells may enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy on solid cancer and induces no specific side effect. Further RCTs with no publishing bias should be designed to confirm the immunotherapeutic effects of DC-CIK cells.

Enhancing NK cell cytotoxicity by miR-182 in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIM

NK-cells are the principle defense line against different malignancies. Their activation status is determined by the balance between activating and inhibitory receptors such as NKG2D and NKG2A, respectively. MicroRNAs are crucial post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, playing key roles in modulating NK-cell development and function. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of miRNAs in regulating the activation and cytotoxic function of NK-cells in HCC.

METHODS

In silico analysis was performed to predict a potential miRNA that might target NKG2D and NKG2A mRNAs. NK-cells were isolated from HCC patients and healthy controls, after which miRNA and mRNA were quantified. Manipulating miRNA expression was performed followed by investigating downstream targets and the cytotoxic activity of NK-cells against Huh-7 cell lines.

RESULTS

NK-cells of HCC patients showed miR-182 overexpression compared to controls. NKG2D and NKG2A were upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in HCC NK-cells. Upon forcing miR-182 expression in the HCC NK-cells, upregulation of both receptors was observed. Finally, miR-182 was reported to induce NK-cell cytotoxicity represented in Perforin-1 upregulation and increase in cytolytic killing of co-cultured Huh-7 cells.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that miR-182 may augment NK-cell cytotoxicity against liver cancer via modulating NKG2D and NKG2A expressions.

Interleukin-18 synergism with interleukin-2 in cytotoxicity and NKG2D expression of human natural killer cells

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. Interleukin (IL)-18 is an immunoregulatory cytokine that induces potent NK cell-dependent anti-tumor responses when administrated with other cytokines. In this study, we explored the effects of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytotoxicity as well as expression levels of the NK cell receptor NKG2D in vitro. Freshly isolated PBMCs were incubated for 48 h with IL-18 and IL-2, then CD107a expression on CD3-CD56+ NK cells was determined by three-colour flow cytometry to evaluate the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human erythroleukemia K562 cells and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was also employed to determine NKG2D expression on NK cells. The combined use of IL-18 and IL-2 significantly increased CD107a expression on NK cells compared with using IL-18 or IL-2 alone, suggesting that the combination of these two cytokines exerted synergistic enhancement of NK cytotoxicity. IL-18 also enhanced NKG2D expression on NK cells when administered with IL-2. In addition, blockade of NKG2D signaling with NKG2D-blocking antibody attenuated the up-regulatory effect of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytolysis. Our data revealed that IL-18 synergized with IL-2 to dramatically enhance the cytolytic activity of human NK cells in a NKG2D-dependent manner. The results appear encouraging for the use of combined IL-18 and IL-2 in tumor immunotherapy.

Influence of propofol, isoflurane and enflurance on levels of serum interleukin-8 and interleukin-10 in cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

To observe the influence of propofol, isoflurane and enflurance on interleukin-8 (IL-8) and IL-10 levels in cancer patients.

METHODS

Ninety cancer patients with selective operation from March 2011 to May 2014 were randomly divided into group A (34 cases), group B (28 cases) and group C (28 cases). Intramuscular injections of scopine hydrochloride and phenobarbital sodium were routinely conducted to 3 groups. After general anesthesia was induced, tracheal intubations were given. During the maintenance of anesthesia, 0.5~1.0 mg/ kg propofol was intravenously injected to group A discontinuously, while continuous suctions of isoflurane and enflurance were subsequently performed to group B and C correspondingly. Clinical outcomes, postoperative complications as well as serum IL-8 and IL-10 levels before operation (T0), at the time of skin incision (T1), 3 h after the beginning of the operation (T2) and 24 h (T3) and 72 h (T4) after the operation were observed among 3 groups.

RESULTS

Operations in all groups were successfully completed. The rates of surgery associated complications were 8.82% (3/34), 7.14% (2/28) and 7.14% (2/28) in group A, B and C, respectively, and there were no significant differences (P>0.05). Serum IL-8 and IL-10 levels increased gradually from the beginning of the operation and reached the peak at T3, and were evidently higher at each time point than at T0 (P<0.01). At T1, serum IL-8 and IL-10 levels had no significant differences among 3 groups (P<0.05), but the differences were significant at T2, T3 and T4 (P<0.05). Moreover, correlation analysis suggested that serum IL-8 level was in positive relation with IL-10 level (r=0.952, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Propofol, which is better in inhibiting serum IL-8 secretion and improving IL-10 secretion than isoflurane and enflurance, can be regarded as a preferable anesthetic agent in inhibiting traumatic inflammatory responses.