مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان (Mar 2012)
A Study of CD4, CCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CXCR3 Expression in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Patients with Gastric Cancer
Abstract
Background: Based on the different expression of chemokine receptors in immune cells, we hypothesized that there would be an alteration in the relative expression of these receptors by T helper cells (Th1 and Th2) during the progression of a malignancy. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 27 patients and 27 controls were studied. The percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing chemokine receptors (before and after gastrectomy) was determined by flow cytometry using anti-CD4 and one of the following chemokine receptor antibodies: anti-CC chemokine receptor (CCR) type 5 (CCR5), anti-CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3), anti-CCR3 and anti-CCR4. Findings: The mean percentage of CD4/CCR5 expressing cells was 1.23 ± 0.90%, 0.83 ± 0.34%, and 1.34 ± 0.74% in control, and pre- and post-operation groups, respectively. The expressing cells were different between pre- and post-gastrectomy groups (P = 0.001). The expression of CD4/CXCR3 cells in control, and pre- and post-operation groups were 19.09 ± 8.40%, 16.95 ± 5.71%, and 25.08 ± 9.31%, respectively. The expression of CXCR3 cells increased significantly in patients after operation (P = 0.001). Pearson's correlation analysis showed an independent correlation between CCR5 and CXCR3 expression before and after the operation (r = -0.091; P = 0.513 before operation and r = 0.0267; P = 0.0177 after operation). The expression of CD4/CCR3 cells in control, and pre- and post-operation groups were 0.75 ± 0.93%, 0.57 ± 0.46%, and 0.62 ± 0.42%, respectively with no difference between pre- and post-operation groups (P = 0.707). The corresponding values for CD4/CCR4 cells were 26.80 ± 10.36%, 32.29 ± 9.00%, and 31.69 ± 8.76%. While a significant difference was observed between control and pre-treatment groups (P = 0.042), differences between post-operation and control groups (P = 0.067) and pre- and post-operation groups (P = 0.513) were not significant. Pearson's correlation analysis showed no relationship between CCR3 and CCR4 expression (r = 0.211; P = 0.126). The only significant correlation was detected between CCR3 and CCR5 (r = 0.321; P = 0.018). Conclusion: Due to low expression of CCR5 in Th1 cells and CCR3 in Th2 cells, these receptors are not appropriate for clinical evaluation. On the other hand, CXCR3 and CCR4 seem to be more valuable in clinical assessments of gastric cancer.
