An adaptive immune response driven by mature, antigen‐experienced T and B cells within the microenvironment of oral squamous cell carcinoma

作者：Hongzhi Quan, Liangjuan Fang, Hao Pan, Zhiyuan Deng, Shan Gao, Ousheng Liu, Yuehong Wang, Yanjia Hu, Xiaodan Fang, Zhigang Yao, Feng Guo, Ruohuang Lu, Kun Xia, Zhangui Tang · 发表于：International Journal of Cancer · 年份：2016 · DOI：10.1002/ijc.30019 · 被引用次数：40 · 研究领域：Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses、Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Lymphocyte infiltrates have been observed in the microenvironment of oral cancer; however, little is known about whether the immune response of the lymphocyte infiltrate affects tumor biology. For a deeper understanding of the role of the infiltrating-lymphocytes in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we characterized the lymphocyte infiltrate repertoires and defined their features. Immunohistochemistry revealed considerable T and B cell infiltrates and lymphoid follicles with germinal center-like structures within the tumor microenvironment. Flow cytometry demonstrated that populations of antigen-experienced CD4+ and CD8+ cells were present, as well as an enrichment of regulatory T cells; and T cells expressing programmed death-1 (PD-1) and T cell Ig and mucin protein-3 (Tim-3), indicative of exhaustion, within the tumor microenvironment. Characterization of tumor-infiltrating B cells revealed clear evidence of antigen exposure, in that the cardinal features of an antigen-driven B cell response were present, including somatic mutation, clonal expansion, intraclonal variation and isotype switching. Collectively, our results point to an adaptive immune response occurring within the OSCC microenvironment, which may be sustained by the expression of specific antigens in the tumor.