Naive Treg-like CCR7+ mononuclear cells indicate unfavorable prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

作者：Shi, Jie-Yi; Duan, Meng; Sun, Qi-Man; Yang, Liuxiao; Wang, Zhi-Chao; Mynbaev, Ospan A.; He, Yi-Feng; Wang, Ling-Yan; Zhou, Jian; Tang, Qi-Qun; Cao, Ya; Fan, Jia; Wang, Xiao-Ying^*; Gao, Qiang^*

来源：Tumor Biology, 2016, 37(7): 9909-9917.

DOI：10.1007/s13277-015-4647-9

• CCR7
• CCRL1
• Treg-like
• Tumor microenvironment

Chemokine receptor-like 1 (CCRL1) has the potential in creating a low level of CCL19 and CCL21 to hinder CCR7(+) cell tracking to tumor tissue. Previously, we found a tumor suppressive role of CCRL1 by impairing CCR7-related chemotaxis of tumor cells in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we reported a contribution of CCR7(+) mononuclear cells in the tumor microenvironment to the progression of disease. Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the distribution and clinical significance of CCR7(+) cells in a cohort of 240 HCC patients. Furthermore, the phenotype, composition, and functional status of CCR7(+) cells were determined by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and in vitro co-culture assays. We found that CCR7(+) mononuclear cells were dispersed around tumor tissue and negatively related to tumoral expression of CCRL1 (P < 0.001, r = 0.391). High density of CCR7(+) mononuclear cells positively correlated with the absence of tumor capsule, vascular invasion, and poor differentiation (P < 0.05). Survival analyses revealed that increased number of CCR7(+) mononuclear cells was significantly associated with worse survival and increased recurrence. We found that CCR7(+) mononuclear cells featured a naive Treg-like phenotype (CD45RA(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+)) and possessed tumor-promoting potential by producing TGF-beta 1. Moreover, CCR7(+) cells were also composed of several immunocytes, a third of which were CD8(+) T cells. CCR7(+) Treg-like cells facilitate tumor growth and indicate unfavorable prognosis in HCC patients, but fortunately, their tracking to tumor tissue is under the control of CCRL1.

• 出版日期2016-7
• 单位复旦大学; 中南大学