Analysis of the TCR β-chain gene rearrangement and CDR3 repertoire in patients with breast cancer / 肿瘤研究与临床

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the clonal gene rearrangement and complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) repertoire of TCR β-chain in fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) specimens of lymph node metastasis in patients with breast cancer. Methods The TCR CDR3 region genes of 24 TCR Vβ subfamilies were amplified by utilizing RT-PCR technology, and the CDR3 lengths of TCR β-chain were analyzed with gene scan technology for 2 cases with lymph node reactive hyperplasia and 3 patients with lymph node metastasis of breast cancer. The clonality of T cells presumed by spectra typing was further confirmed by CDR3 sequencing. Results TCR β-chain presented specific repertoire skewing in metastatic lymph node,and only 3-5 TCR Vβ subfamily of T cells were identified, respectively. Clonal expanded T cells, including oligoclonal, polyclonal patterns, in one or more Vβ subfamilies were found in all cases. The oligoclonal expanded T cells had different CDR3 amino acid sequences. Conclusion There are characteristic T cells cloning proliferation and selected usage of TCR Vβ subfamily T cells could be found in metastatic lymph node.The sequences of CDR3 in different TCR clone proliferation are mostly different.