Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 14, 2012; 18(38): 5454-5461
Published online Oct 14, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i38.5454
Correlation between circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells and Th17 cells in esophageal cancer
Zhi-Jun Jiao, Jing-Jing Gao, Sheng-Hao Hua, De-Yu Chen, Wen-Hong Wang, Hui Wang, Xu-Hui Wang, Hua-Xi Xu
Zhi-Jun Jiao, Jing-Jing Gao, Sheng-Hao Hua, Hui Wang, Xu-Hui Wang, Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
De-Yu Chen, Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212001, Jiangsu Province, China
Wen-Hong Wang, Hua-Xi Xu, Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Jiao ZJ, Xu HX and Wang WH designed the research; Chen DY collected the clinical data; Gao JJ, Hua SH, Wang H and Wang XH contributed to the acquisition of data or to the analysis and interpretation of data; Jiao ZJ and Gao JJ wrote the paper.
Supported by Grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30872335, 81172871; The Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, No. BK2009208 and the Jiangsu Government Scholarship for Overseas Studies
Correspondence to: Dr. Zhi-Jun Jiao, Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, No. 438, Jiefang Road, Zhenjiang 212001, Jiangsu Province, China. jiaozhijun@yahoo.com.cn
Telephone: +86-511-85021135 Fax: +86-511-85029089
Received: January 28, 2012
Revised: March 6, 2012
Accepted: March 20, 2012
Published online: October 14, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To perform a comprehensive investigation into the potential correlation between circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and Th17 cells in esophageal cancer (ECA).

METHODS: A total of 31 patients newly diagnosed with ECA and 26 healthy subjects were included in the current study. The frequencies of MDSCs and Th17 cells in peripheral blood were determined by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression of cytokines, arginase 1 (Arg1) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma Arg1 were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.

RESULTS: There was an increased prevalence of MDSCs in the peripheral blood from ECA patients (15.21% ± 2.25%) when compared with healthy control (HC) (1.10% ± 0.12%, P < 0.0001). The plasma levels of Arg1 in ECA patients were significantly higher than those in HC (28.28 ± 4.10 ng/mL vs 9.57 ± 1.51 ng/mL, P = 0.0003). iNOS mRNA levels in the peripheral blood of ECA patients also showed a threefold increase compared with HC (P = 0.0162). The frequencies of Th17 cells (CD4+IL-17A+) were significantly elevated in ECA patients versus HC (3.50% ± 0.33% vs 1.82% ± 0.19%, P = 0.0001). Increased mRNA expression of IL-17 and ROR-γt was also observed in ECA patients compared with HC (P = 0.0041 and P = 0.0004, respectively), while the mRNA expression of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) showed significant decreases (P = 0.0049 and P < 0.0001, respectively). No obvious correlations were found between the frequencies of MDSCs and Th17 cells in the peripheral blood from ECA patients(r = -0.1725, P = 0.3534). Arg1 mRNA levels were positively correlated with levels of IL-6 (r = 0.6404, P = 0.0031) and TNF-α (r = 0.7646, P = 0.0001). Similarly, iNOS mRNA levels were also positively correlated with levels of IL-6 (r = 0.6782, P = 0.0007) and TNF-α (r = 0.7633, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: This study reveals the relationship between circulating MDSCs and Th17 cells, which may lead to new immunotherapy approaches for ECA based on the associated metabolites and cytokines.

Keywords: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells; Th17 cells; Esophageal cancer; Arginase I; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Inducible NO synthase