Impact of increased CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells on tumor recurrence in liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the impact of CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T(Treg) cells on tumor recurrence in liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Im-munohistochemistry and flow cytometry were used for analysis of the frequency of Treg. Meanwhile,it was compared with that of non-cancer liver transplantation patients. Results The frequency of CD4+CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in the blood of HCC liver transplantation was (10. 15 ±1. 00) % , which was significantly higher than that in the normal control group (3. 20±1. 18) %. Cir-culating CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ Treg frequency was increased significantly and correlated with the tumor recurrence in the HCC patients. An abundant accumulation of Treg concurrent with significant-ly reduced infiltration of CD8+T cells was found in tumor regions. Conclusion Increased CD4+ D25+FoxP3+ Treg may impair the effectors function of CD8+ T cells, promote the tumor recurrence and re-present a therapeutic target for HCC liver transplantation.