Open Access

Expression of PD‑L1 and SOX2 during rectal tumourigenesis: Potential mechanisms for immune escape and tumour cell invasion

  • Authors:
    • Tim J. Miller
    • Melanie J. Mccoy
    • Christine Hemmings
    • Barry Iacopetta
    • Cameron F. Platell
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: August 21, 2018     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.9337
  • Pages: 5761-5768
  • Copyright: © Miller et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Immunoediting is defined as a process whereby tumour cells develop the capacity to escape immune cell recognition. Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer stem‑like cells (CSCs) have an enhanced capacity to interact with the immune system. The expression of CSCs and immune cell‑associated markers has been demonstrated to change with disease progression from premalignant lesions to invasive cancer. The present study investigated the expression of putative CSC and immune cell‑associated markers in different stages of progression from dysplasia to invasive malignancy in rectal lesions. Immunohistochemistry was performed for the CSC markers Lgr5 and SOX2 and the immune‑associated markers CD8, Foxp3 and PD‑L1 in 79 cases of endoscopically‑excised rectal lesions, ranging from low grade adenoma (LG) to invasive adenocarcinoma (AdCa). CD8 and Foxp3 expression significantly increased with advances in disease progression [AdCa vs. LG: Odds ratio (OR) 4.33; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.16‑16.3; P=0.03 and OR, 40.5; 95% CI, 6.57‑249.6; P<0.0001, respectively]. An increase in programmed death‑ligand 1 (PD‑L1) expression was also observed with disease progression (OR, 24.0; 95% CI, 4.23‑136.2; P=0.0003). The expression of sex determining region Y‑box 2 (SOX2) did not correlate with disease progression, although an elevated expression was observed in areas with high grade dysplasia. Increased PD‑L1 expression may be a mechanism by which tumour cells evade immune recognition, facilitating tumour cell invasion in rectal cancer. The expression of SOX2 in areas with high grade dysplasia may indicate the de‑differentiation of tumour cells, or the activation of migration pathways for invasion.
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November-2018
Volume 16 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Miller TJ, Mccoy MJ, Hemmings C, Iacopetta B and Platell CF: Expression of PD‑L1 and SOX2 during rectal tumourigenesis: Potential mechanisms for immune escape and tumour cell invasion. Oncol Lett 16: 5761-5768, 2018
APA
Miller, T.J., Mccoy, M.J., Hemmings, C., Iacopetta, B., & Platell, C.F. (2018). Expression of PD‑L1 and SOX2 during rectal tumourigenesis: Potential mechanisms for immune escape and tumour cell invasion. Oncology Letters, 16, 5761-5768. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.9337
MLA
Miller, T. J., Mccoy, M. J., Hemmings, C., Iacopetta, B., Platell, C. F."Expression of PD‑L1 and SOX2 during rectal tumourigenesis: Potential mechanisms for immune escape and tumour cell invasion". Oncology Letters 16.5 (2018): 5761-5768.
Chicago
Miller, T. J., Mccoy, M. J., Hemmings, C., Iacopetta, B., Platell, C. F."Expression of PD‑L1 and SOX2 during rectal tumourigenesis: Potential mechanisms for immune escape and tumour cell invasion". Oncology Letters 16, no. 5 (2018): 5761-5768. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.9337