Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells play an important role in antitumor immunity. However, the impact of activated CD8+ T cells on the prognosis of glioma patients remains uncertain. We examined the activated CD38+ HLA-DR+ CD8+ T cells in preoperative peripheral blood and determined whether these cells could predict the prognosis of patients with glioma. METHODS: This prospective study included 72 patients with gliomas (grade II n = 14; grade III n = 15; grade IV n = 43; mean age at diagnosis, 52.3 ± 14.0 years) and 17 healthy participants from June 2013 to December 2014. The CD38+ HLA-DR+ CD8+ subsets were retrieved from peripheral blood of glioma patients before tumor resection and were analyzed by conducting flow cytometry using anti-CD8, anti-CD38, anti-HLA-DR, anti-CCR5, anti-TNFR2, anti-Tim3 and anti-Ki67 antibodies. We evaluated immune profiles and clinical characteristics of recruited patients. The Wald-Wolfowitz runs test, multivariable linear regression model, and survival analysis were performed for data analyses. RESULTS: The activated phenotype (CD38+/HLA-DR+) CD8+ T cells were increased in grade IV patients compared to healthy controls (p <0.05). The activated CD8+ T cells expressed elevated level of CCR5 in low grade and high grade gliomas (all p <0.05). The proportion of the activated CD8+ T cells was associated with tumor size, age, and clinical outcomes. In grade IV patients, higher level of activated CD8+ T cells yielded better progression free survival (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study support that the expression of activation markers CD38+/HLA-DR+ on CD8+ T cells may predicted the prognosis of patients with gliomas, especially in high grade gliomas. Additional investigations are warranted to understand the associations between crucial immune mediators and the activated CD8+ T cells in glioma immunology.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
