Open Access

Immunological potential of tertiary lymphoid structures surrounding the primary tumor in gastric cancer

  • Authors:
    • Yoshihito Yamakoshi
    • Hiroaki Tanaka
    • Chie Sakimura
    • Sota Deguchi
    • Takuya Mori
    • Tatsuro Tamura
    • Takahiro Toyokawa
    • Kazuya Muguruma
    • Kosei Hirakawa
    • Masaichi Ohira
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: April 8, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2020.5042
  • Pages: 171-182
  • Copyright: © Yamakoshi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), which consist of B cells, T cells, follicular dendritic cells and high endothelial venules, have recently been found to be associated with effective antitumor immune responses in patients with cancer. Tumor‑infiltrating T cells and B cells have each been demonstrated to be associated with survival in patients with cancer. We hypothesized that TLSs, an assembly of immune cells, may be important for the initiation and/or maintenance of T cell and B cell responses against tumors. The aim of the present study was to examine the cellular mechanism of B cells in TLSs within gastric cancer and to understand the antitumor immune response of TLSs. Each B cell subset in a tumor was examined using flow cytometry to evaluate B cell differentiation and the functional status of B cells. In addition, B cell clonality was investigated by analyzing the B cell antigen receptor gene using PCR, and the function and formation/maintenance of TLSs were evaluated using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. Tumor‑infiltrating B cells were more differentiated compared with that in distant non‑tumor tissues and tumor‑draining lymph nodes. The PCR results revealed specific BCR gene expression in tumor‑infiltrating B cells. The expression of co‑stimulatory factors, CD80 and CD86, was observed, in addition to the constantly expressed major histocompatibility complex molecules (HLA‑ABC and HLA‑DR). CD70 was expressed in addition to CD27 in both CD20+ B cells and CD8+ T cells, indicating that these factors are activated together through their interaction. The mRNA expression levels of CCL21, CXCL13, PD‑L1, perforin and granzyme B in TLSs was significantly higher compared with that in non‑TLSs. The majority of tumor‑infiltrating B cells in gastric cancer exist in the form of TLSs around the tumor and have been antigen‑sensitized and differentiated, and proliferated in TLSs but not in the lymph nodes. In addition, B cells in TLSs might primarily function as antigen‑presenting cells and be associated with the induction of cytotoxic T cells.
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July-2020
Volume 57 Issue 1

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Yamakoshi Y, Tanaka H, Sakimura C, Deguchi S, Mori T, Tamura T, Toyokawa T, Muguruma K, Hirakawa K, Ohira M, Ohira M, et al: Immunological potential of tertiary lymphoid structures surrounding the primary tumor in gastric cancer. Int J Oncol 57: 171-182, 2020
APA
Yamakoshi, Y., Tanaka, H., Sakimura, C., Deguchi, S., Mori, T., Tamura, T. ... Ohira, M. (2020). Immunological potential of tertiary lymphoid structures surrounding the primary tumor in gastric cancer. International Journal of Oncology, 57, 171-182. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2020.5042
MLA
Yamakoshi, Y., Tanaka, H., Sakimura, C., Deguchi, S., Mori, T., Tamura, T., Toyokawa, T., Muguruma, K., Hirakawa, K., Ohira, M."Immunological potential of tertiary lymphoid structures surrounding the primary tumor in gastric cancer". International Journal of Oncology 57.1 (2020): 171-182.
Chicago
Yamakoshi, Y., Tanaka, H., Sakimura, C., Deguchi, S., Mori, T., Tamura, T., Toyokawa, T., Muguruma, K., Hirakawa, K., Ohira, M."Immunological potential of tertiary lymphoid structures surrounding the primary tumor in gastric cancer". International Journal of Oncology 57, no. 1 (2020): 171-182. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2020.5042