Th17细胞联合CD3^+CD8^-IL-21^+ T细胞升高与宫颈癌发生发展的关系

Elevation of blood Th17 cells and CD3^+CD8^-IL-21^+ T cells in patients with cervical cancer

目的:Th17细胞在免疫调节中起重要作用,而IL-21与Th17在分化调节和功能行使上密切相关。本研究旨在探讨Th17在宫颈癌发生发展中的作用。方法:选取37例宫颈癌患者、25例宫颈上皮内瘤变(CIN)患者和18例健康志愿者作为研究对象,用流式细胞分析术检测外周血中Th17细胞及CD3+CD8-IL-21+ T细胞的比例。分析两者与临床病理指标之间的关系。结果:与健康对照组相比,Th17细胞及CD3+CD8-IL-21+ T细胞比例(占淋巴细胞百分比)在CIN组(P<0.01,P<0.05)及宫颈癌组(P<0.01,P<0.05)均明显升高。此外,2种细胞的比例都与临床分期有关,在晚期宫颈癌组明显升高(均P<0.05),并且有淋巴结转移组或脉管浸润组都明显高于相对应的无转移组(P<0.01,P<0.05)或无浸润组(均P<0.01)。此外,在健康对照组和宫颈癌组,Th17与CD3+CD8-IL-21+ T细胞呈正相关,CD3+CD8-IL-21+T细胞的比例还与肿瘤大小有关(P<0.01)。结论:Th17和CD3+CD8-IL-21+ T细胞在宫颈癌患者外周血中的比例上调,在宫颈癌的发生发展中可能起着重要作用。

AIM：To investigate the role of Th17 cells in the patients with cervical cancer.METHODS： We measured the peripheral levels of Th17 cells and CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells in 37 cervical cancer（CC） patients,25 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia（CIN） patients and 18 healthy controls by flow cytometry.The percentages of Th17 cells and CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells in total CD4＋ cells were calculated.RESULTS： Compared with controls,the patients with CC or CIN had higher proportions of Th17 cells（all P0.01） and CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells（all P0.05）.Notably,in CC patients,the increased percentages of Th17 cells and CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells were independently associated with the clinical stage（all P0.05）,lymph node metastasis（P0.01,P0.05） and vasoinvasion（all P0.01）,while the elevated percentage of CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells was also associated with the tumor size（P0.01）.Furthermore,the percentage of Th17 cells was positively correlated with that of CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋ T cells in healthy controls and CC patients,but not in CIN patients.CONCLUSION： Our results indicates a possible role of Th17 cells in CC patients correlated with CD3＋CD8-IL-21＋T cells,and the elevated percentage of circulating Th17 cells may be involved in the development and progression of cervical cancer.