Accumulation and suppressive function of regulatory T cells in malignant ascites: Reducing their suppressive function using arsenic trioxide in vitro

Hu,Zilong; Hu,Shidong; Wu,Youjun; Li,Songyan; He,Changzheng; Xing,Xiaowei; Wang,Yufeng; Du,Xiaohui

doi:10.3892/ol.2018.7974

Accumulation and suppressive function of regulatory T cells in malignant ascites: Reducing their suppressive function using arsenic trioxide in vitro

Authors:
- Zilong Hu
- Shidong Hu
- Youjun Wu
- Songyan Li
- Changzheng He
- Xiaowei Xing
- Yufeng Wang
- Xiaohui Du
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Affiliations: Department of General Surgery, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, P.R. China, Department of Patient Admission Management, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, P.R. China
Published online on: February 7, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.7974
Pages: 5384-5390
Copyright: © Hu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Although adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has demonstrated effective and remarkable clinical responses in several studies, this approach does not lead to objective clinical responses in all cases. The function of ACT is often compromised by various tumor escape mechanisms, including the accumulation of immunoregulatory cells. As a result of peritoneal metastasis in the terminal stage, malignant ascites fluid lacks effectiveness and is a poor prognostic factor for gastric cancer. The present study assessed T‑cell subsets in lymphocytes derived from malignant ascites, and investigated the effects of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on regulatory T cells (Tregs) and ascites‑derived tumor‑infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in vitro. In this study, lymphocytes were separated from malignant ascites and T‑cell subsets were detected via flow cytometry. Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In addition, cytokines, including interleukin‑10 (IL‑10), transforming growth factor‑β (TGF‑β), and interferon‑γ (IFN‑γ), were measured by enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Abundant Tregs were observed in ascites lymphocytes, which and exhibited a significantly increased frequency compared with that in the peripheral blood of patients. Furthermore, As2O3 treatment significantly reduced Treg numbers and Foxp3 mRNA levels in vitro (P<0.05). IFN‑γ levels in the supernatant of ascites‑derived TILs were increased by As2O3, whereas IL‑10 and TGF‑β levels were significantly reduced (P<0.05). As2O3 may induce selective depletion and inhibit immunosuppressive function of Tregs, and may enhance the cytotoxic activity of ascites-derived TILs.

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