CD3-CD8 immune score associated with a clinical score stratifies PDAC prognosis regardless of adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Stratification of the prognosis of pancreatic cancer (PDAC) patients treated by surgery is based solely on clinical variables, such as tumor stage and node status. The development of biomarkers of relapse is needed, especially to drive administration of adjuvant therapy in this at-risk population. Our study evaluates the prognostic performance of a CD3- and CD8-based immune score. CD3, CD8 and Foxp3 expression were evaluated on whole slides in two retrospective PDAC cohorts totaling 334 patients. For this study, we developed an immune score to estimate CD3 and CD8 infiltration in both tumor core and invasive margin using computer-guided analysis with QuPath software. Variables were combined in a dichotomous immune score. The association between immune and clinical scores, and both PFS and OS was investigated. We observed that a dichotomous immune score predicts both PFS and OS of localized PDAC. By univariate and multivariate analysis, immune score, tumor grade, adjuvant therapy, lymph node status, and adjuvant chemotherapy administration were associated with PFS and OS. We subsequently associated the PDAC immune score and clinical variables in a combined score. This combined score predicted patient outcomes independently of adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment, and improved patient prognostic prediction compared to clinical variables or immune score alone.

Combination of CDX2 H-score quantitative analysis with CD3 AI-guided analysis identifies patients with a good prognosis only in stage III colon cancer.

AIM: Stratification of colon cancer (CC) of patients with stage II and III for risk of relapse is still needed especially to drive adjuvant therapy administration. Our study evaluates the prognostic performance of two known biomarkers, CDX2 and CD3, standalone or their combined information in stage II and III CC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CDX2 and CD3 expression was evaluated in Prodige-13 study gathering 443 stage II and 398 stage III primary CC on whole slide colectomy. We developed for this study an H-score to quantify CDX2 expression and used our artificial intelligence (AI)-guided tissue analysis ColoClass to detect CD3 in tumour core and invasive margin. Association between biomarkers and relapse-free survival was investigated. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that the combined variable CD3-TC and CD3-IM was associated with prognosis in both stage II and stage III. CDX2, on the contrary, was associated with prognosis only in stage III. We subsequently associated CDX2 and combined immune parameters only in stage III. This multivariate analysis allowed us to distinguish a proportion of stage III CC harbouring a high CDX2 expression and a high immune infiltration with a particularly good prognosis compared to their counterpart. CONCLUSION: This study validated the prognostic role of CDX2 and CD3 evaluated with immunohistochemistry procedures in stage III but not in stage II. This association would be conceivable in a routine pathology laboratory and could help oncologist to consider chemotherapy de-escalation for a part of stage III patients.

Using a convolutional neural network for classification of squamous and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer based on diagnostic histopathology HES images.

Histological stratification in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is essential to properly guide therapy. Morphological evaluation remains the basis for subtyping and is completed by additional immunohistochemistry labelling to confirm the diagnosis, which delays molecular analysis and utilises precious sample. Therefore, we tested the capacity of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to classify NSCLC based on pathologic HES diagnostic biopsies. The model was estimated with a learning cohort of 132 NSCLC patients and validated on an external validation cohort of 65 NSCLC patients. Based on image patches, a CNN using InceptionV3 architecture was trained and optimized to classify NSCLC between squamous and non-squamous subtypes. Accuracies of 0.99, 0.87, 0.85, 0.85 was reached in the training, validation and test sets and in the external validation cohort. At the patient level, the CNN model showed a capacity to predict the tumour histology with accuracy of 0.73 and 0.78 in the learning and external validation cohorts respectively. Selecting tumour area using virtual tissue micro-array improved prediction, with accuracy of 0.82 in the external validation cohort. This study underlines the capacity of CNN to predict NSCLC subtype with good accuracy and to be applied to small pathologic samples without annotation.

Follicular helper-T cells restore CD8+-dependent antitumor immunity and anti-PD-L1/PD-1 efficacy.

BACKGROUND: T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are essential to shape B cell response during germinal center formation. Tfh accumulation has been reported in various human cancers, with positive or negative prognostic roles. However, the mechanisms explaining the accumulation of Tfh and their role in cancer remain obscure. METHODS: In vitro differentiated and mouse cell sorted Tfh phenotype was evaluated by flow cytometry and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Antitumor effect of Tfh was evaluated by adoptive transfer in different tumor-bearing mice models. The involvement of immune cells, cytokines and chemokines was evaluated, using depleting antibodies. Chemokines and cytokines expression and production were evaluated by qPCR and ELISA. In human, the impact of immune cells and chemokines on survival was evaluated by analyzing transcriptomic data from public databases and from our own patient cohorts. RESULTS: In this study, we show that Tfh exert an antitumor immune effect in a CD8+-dependent manner. Tfh produce interleukin-21, which sustains proliferation, viability, cytokine production and cytotoxic functions of exhausted T cells. The presence of Tfh is required for efficacy of antiprogrammed cell death ligand-1 therapy. Tfh accumulate in the tumor bed and draining lymph nodes in different mouse cancer models. This recruitment is due to the capacity of transforming growth factor ß to drive Chemokine (C-X-C motif) Ligand 13 expression, a chemoattractant of Tfh, by intratumor CD8+ T cells. Accumulation of Tfh and exhausted CD8+ T cells predicts cancer outcome in various cancer types. In patients treated with anti-programmed cell death-1 mAb, accumulation of Tfh and CD8+ at the tumor site is associated with outcome. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that CD8+/Tfh crosstalk is important in shaping antitumor immune response generated by immunotherapy.

A Multicentre Pilot Study of a Two-Tier Newborn Sickle Cell Disease Screening Procedure with a First Tier Based on a Fully Automated MALDI-TOF MS Platform.

The reference methods used for sickle cell disease (SCD) screening usually include two analytical steps: a first tier for differentiating haemoglobin S (HbS) heterozygotes, HbS homozygotes and ß-thalassemia from other samples, and a confirmatory second tier. Here, we evaluated a first-tier approach based on a fully automated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) platform with automated sample processing, a laboratory information management system and NeoSickle® software for automatic data interpretation. A total of 6701 samples (with high proportions of phenotypes homozygous (FS) or heterozygous (FAS) for the inherited genes for sickle haemoglobin and samples from premature newborns) were screened. The NeoSickle® software correctly classified 98.8% of the samples. This specific blood sample collection was enriched in qualified difficult samples (premature newborns, FAS samples, late and very late samples, etc.). In this study, the sensitivity of FS sample detection was found to be 100% on the Lille MS facility and 99% on the Dijon MS facility, and the specificity of FS sample detection was found to be 100% on both MS facilities. The MALDI-MS platform appears to be a robust solution for first-tier use to detect the HbS variant: it is reproducible and sensitive, it has the power to analyze 600-1000 samples per day and it can reduce the unit cost of testing thanks to maximal automation, minimal intervention by the medical team and good overall practicability. The MALDI-MS approach meets today's criteria for the large-scale, cost-effective screening of newborns, children and adults.

Oxidation-induced loss of the ability of HDL to counteract the inhibitory effect of oxidized LDL on vasorelaxation.

Several current diseases are associated with an increase in the oxidation of HDL, which is likely to impair their functionality. Our aim was to identify whether oxidation could change the protective effect of HDL against the deleterious effect on vasoreactivity induced by oxidative stress. HDL from healthy subjects were oxidized in vitro by Cu(2+), and the ability of oxidized HDL to counteract the inhibitory effect of oxidized LDL on acetylcholine-induced vasodilation was tested on isolated rabbit aorta rings. Oxidation of HDL was evidenced by the increase in the 7-oxysterols/cholesterol ratio (3.20 ± 1.12 vs 0.02 ± 0.01 % in native HDL, p < 0.05). Oxidized LDL inhibited endothelium-dependent vasodilation (E max = 50.2 ± 5.0 vs 92.5 ± 1.7 % for incubation in Kreb's buffer, p < 0.05) and native HDL counteracted this inhibition (E max = 72.4 ± 4.8 vs 50.2 ± 5.0 % p < 0.05). At the opposite, oxidized HDL had no effect on oxidized LDL-induced inhibition on endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (E max = 53.7 ± 4.8 vs 50.2 ± 5.0 %, NS). HDL oxidation is associated with a decreased ability of HDL to remove 7-oxysterols from oxidized LDL. In conclusion, these results show that oxidation of HDL induces the loss of their protective effect against endothelial dysfunction, which could promote atherosclerosis in diseases associated with increased oxidative stress.

Detection of anti-HLA antibodies with flow cytometry in needle core biopsies of renal transplants recipients with chronic allograft nephropathy.

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of detecting anti-HLA antibodies in eluates from needle core biopsies of renal transplants with chronic allograft nephropathy. Two methods of screening, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry (FlowPRA) were compared. Twenty renal transplants with CAN were removed after irreversible graft failure. To assess the feasibility of detecting anti-HLA antibodies in small samples, needle core biopsies were sampled at the same place as surgical samples and at a second cortical area. Antibodies were eluted with an acid elution kit and anti-class I and class II IgG HLA antibodies detected using ELISA and flow cytometry. Flow cytometry was found to be more sensitive than ELISA for detecting anti-HLA antibodies in eluates from renal transplants with CAN (95% vs. 75% of positive cases). Detection of anti-HLA antibodies showed good agreement between surgical samples and needle core biopsies performed at the same place for anti-class I (80% vs. 65%, r=0.724 P<0.01) and anti-class II HLA antibodies (70% vs. 55%, r=0.827 P<0.01). In addition, differences in the detection of anti-class I HLA antibodies in needle core biopsies sampled at different sites suggests that immunization to class I donor antigen could be underestimated in needle core biopsy samples. These data indicate that anti-HLA antibodies can be detected in needle core biopsies from renal transplants. Provided further evaluation is done, elution might be a complementary method to detect anti-HLA antibodies when they are bound to the transplant.

Detection of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies with flow cytometry in eluates and sera from renal transplant recipients with chronic allograft nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), which remains the main cause of graft loss after kidney transplantation, is still poorly understood. Because anti-HLA antibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of CAN, this study was performed to look for donor-specific antibodies (DSA) fixed onto renal transplants with CAN. METHODS: DSA were identified after elution with flow cytometric assay and/or flow cytometric crossmatches in 20 transplants removed after irreversible graft failure caused by CAN and in control samples from 2 transplants with relapsing glomerulopathy, 2 transplants lost after vascular thrombosis, and 4 normal kidneys. The results were compared with those obtained in the serum samples 1 year after grafting, at the time of transplantectomy, and within 2 months after transplantectomy. RESULTS: IgG anti-class I, anti-class II, or both DSA were identified in 70.6% of eluates versus 73.6% of posttransplantectomy serum samples (NS), 42.1% of 1-year postgrafting serum samples (P<0.05), and 31.6% of serum samples at the time of transplantectomy (P<0.05). Our data show a good correlation between the target of anti-HLA antibodies found in both eluates and posttransplantectomy serum samples, but the precise specificity of anti-HLA antibodies is more often assigned in posttransplantectomy serum samples than in eluates. This problem needs further evaluation. CONCLUSION: This study shows that testing for anti-HLA DSA in eluates from removed kidney transplants using flow cytometry can be achieved and is highly efficient. It already suggests that both anti-class I and anti-class II HLA antibodies can be involved in CAN. Further studies are now needed to evaluate the possibility of identifying such antibodies in the eluates of transplant biopsy specimens from recipients experiencing CAN.

Subcellular expression of c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 in colorectal cancers: relationships with clinicopathological features and prognosis.

The Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) family includes several critical cell death inhibitors, the expression of which could be involved in colorectal carcinogenesis. Among them, c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 expression has never been investigated in colorectal cancer. The present study was designed to determine whether expression of both IAPs was related to pathological parameters and survival in sporadic colon carcinomas. Analysis of five human colon cancer cell lines by both western blotting of cell fractions and immunocytochemistry showed that the two IAPs could be expressed both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical analysis of a series of 46 sporadic colorectal adenocarcinomas demonstrated that c-IAP1 expression was more frequent in the nucleus (85%), and that c-IAP2 was more often expressed in the cytoplasm (82%). A significant association was identified between a strong lymphoid infiltrate in the stroma and the nuclear expression of c-IAP2 (p = 0.02). No other relationship was observed between IAP expression and pathological features. After adjusting by age and stage, the relative risk of death was lower for cytoplasmic c-IAP1, cytoplasmic c-IAP2, and nuclear c-IAP2 expression. It was higher for nuclear c-IAP1 expression. These associations were not statistically significant, but this work underlines the importance of taking into account the subcellular location of the IAP family members in the evaluation of their prognostic significance.