LAP+CD4+ T cells are elevated among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor tissue of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Ou,Xi; Guan,Jing; Chen,Jing‑Sen; Ying,Jie‑Cao; Liu,Xiao‑Ping; Tian,Pei‑Kai; Liu,Ji‑Kui; Nie,Li‑Ping; Zhao,Yang; Yu,Guang‑Yin

doi:10.3892/etm.2018.6229

LAP+CD4+ T cells are elevated among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor tissue of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Authors:
- Xi Ou
- Jing Guan
- Jing‑Sen Chen
- Jie‑Cao Ying
- Xiao‑Ping Liu
- Pei‑Kai Tian
- Ji‑Kui Liu
- Li‑Ping Nie
- Yang Zhao
- Guang‑Yin Yu
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Affiliations: Department of Hepatobiliary and Laparoscopic Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518036, P.R. China, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Xiamen University Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen, Fujian 361004, P.R. China, Department of General Surgery, Jinhua People's Hospital, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321000, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518036, P.R. China, Department of Pathology, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518036, P.R. China
Published online on: May 29, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.6229
Pages: 788-796
Copyright: © Ou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of latency‑associated peptide (LAP)+CD4+ T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) immunity. Flow cytometric analysis was performed to detect the proportion of LAP+CD4+ T cells among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 30 HBV‑infected HCC patients at the pre‑operative and post‑operative stages, as well as 30 hepatitis B virus (HBV)‑infected volunteers as a control group. Furthermore, tumor tissues and peri‑tumor tissues from 28 patients with HCC, as well as hepatic tissues from 28 HBV‑infected patients with benign lesions were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with double staining for LAP and CD4, and the average number of the LAP+CD4+ T cells in each visual field was quantified. The results indicated that the proportion of LAP+CD4+ T cells in the PBMCs of patients with HCC was significantly higher than that in the control group (1.84±0.85 vs. 0.73±0.39%, P=0.019), while it was significantly reduced after the operation (1.07±0.35, P=0.021), but still slightly, if not significantly, higher compared with that in the control group (P=0.342). Furthermore, the number of LAP+CD4+ T cells per high‑magnification microscopic field (magnification, x400) in the HCC tissues was 11.25±3.00, which was significantly higher than that in the peri‑cancer tissues (5.75±1.00) and that in the HBV‑infected hepatic tissues around benign lesions (2.61±0.83). In peri‑cancer tissues, LAP+CD4+ T cells were also significantly more abundant than in control tissues. Furthermore, in the HCC tissues, LAP+CD4+ T cells were present as clusters in the tumor stroma and closely associated with CD4+ T lymphocytes. By contrast, in the peri‑cancer liver tissues and HBV‑infected hepatic tissues around benign lesions, LAP+CD4+ T cells were sparsely distributed. LAP+CD4+ T cells have marked inhibitory effects, and in the peripheral blood and tumor tissues of patients with HCC, they have an important role in the suppression of anti‑tumor immunity and in the immune evasion of tumor cells.

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