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British Journal of Cancer (2007) 96, 617-622.
doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6603580 www.bjcancer.com Published online 30 January 2007
Increase in circulating Foxp3+CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients
K-M Lau1,2, S H Cheng1,2, K W Lo1,2,3, S A K W Lee1, J K S Woo4, C A van Hasselt4, S P Lee5, A B Rickinson5 and M H L Ng1,2
1Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
2State Key Laboratory in Oncology in South China, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
3Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
4Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
5Cancer Research UK, Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Correspondence to: Professor MHL Ng, Hematology Section, Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Tel: 852 2632 2179; Fax: 852 2637 6274; E-mail: margaretng@cuhk.edu.hk
This work was supported in part by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Direct Grant for Research Ref 2005.1.003 Project 2041174, Kadoorie Charitable Foundations (Project ID 6901733) and the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Science and HKUST 2/03C.
Received 2 October 2006; revised 29 November 2006; accepted 11 December 2006; published online 30 January 2007
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an Epstein-Barr virus-associated disease with high prevalence in Southern Chinese. Using multiparametric flow cytometry, we identified significant expansions of circulating naïve and memory CD4+CD25high T cells in 56 NPC patients compared with healthy age- and sex-matched controls. These were regulatory T cells (Treg), as they overexpressed Foxp3 and GITR, and demonstrated enhanced suppressive activities against autologous CD4+CD25- T-cell proliferation in functional studies on five patients. Abundant intraepithelial infiltrations of Treg with very high levels of Foxp3 expression and absence of CCR7 expression were also detected in five primary tumours. Our current study is the first to demonstrate an expansion of functional Treg in the circulation of NPC patients and the presence of infiltrating Treg in the tumour microenvironment. As Treg may play an important role in suppressing antitumour immunity, our findings provide critical insights for clinical management of NPC.
Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Treg; antitumour immunity; tumour infiltrating lymphocytes
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