The Expression of TSLP and Its Relationship with the Number of Infiltrating Regulatory T Cells in Lung Cancer / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the expression of TSLP in human lung cancer tissue and the correla-tion between TSLP expression and number of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Methods: The expression of TSLP mRNA and protein was detected in different pathological lesions of the lung by Q-RT-PCR and immunohisto-chemistry. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect Foxp3+ Tregs. The correlation of TSLP with the number of Tregs was analyzed. Results: TSLP gene was expressed in tumor tissues (n=37), latero-tumor tissues (n=29) and non-tumor lung tissues (n=24), without statistical difference (P=0.148). TSLP protein was expressed in the cytoplasm and was observeed in 69.57% of tumor tissues, 13.33% of benign lesions and 30.00% of non-tumor lung tissues, with a significant difference (P<0.05). The expression of TSLP protein was correlated with tumor size (P=0.000) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.018). The number of Tregs in TSLP positive group was more than that in TSLP negative group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The expression of TSLP in lung tu-mor tissues is increased and is correlated with the number of Tregs, indicating that TSLP could induce Treg to play an important role in tumor immunotolerance.