RESUMO
CD73 is an important ectoenzyme responsible for the production of extracellular adenosine. It is involved in regulating inflammatory responses and cell migration and is overexpressed in various cancers. The functions of CD73 in blood endothelial cells are understood in detail, but its role on afferent lymphatics remains unknown. Moreover, anti-CD73 antibodies are now used in multiple clinical cancer trials, but their effects on different endothelial cell types have not been studied. This study reveals that a previously unknown role of CD73 on afferent lymphatics is to dampen immune responses. Knocking it out or suppressing it by siRNA leads to the upregulation of inflammation-associated genes on lymphatic endothelial cells and a more pro-inflammatory phenotype of interacting dendritic cells in vitro and in vivo. In striking contrast, anti-CD73 antibodies had only negligible effects on the gene expression of lymphatic- and blood-endothelial cells. Our data thus reveal new functions of lymphatic CD73 and indicate a low likelihood of endothelial cell-related adverse effects by CD73 targeting therapeutic antibodies.
Assuntos
5'-Nucleotidase/imunologia , Células Endoteliais/imunologia , Inflamação/prevenção & controle , 5'-Nucleotidase/antagonistas & inibidores , 5'-Nucleotidase/deficiência , 5'-Nucleotidase/genética , Animais , Anticorpos Bloqueadores/administração & dosagem , Diferenciação Celular/imunologia , Células Cultivadas , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Células Dendríticas/imunologia , Células Dendríticas/patologia , Células Endoteliais/enzimologia , Células Endoteliais/patologia , Feminino , Proteínas Ligadas por GPI/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas Ligadas por GPI/deficiência , Proteínas Ligadas por GPI/genética , Proteínas Ligadas por GPI/imunologia , Técnicas de Inativação de Genes , Inativação Gênica , Humanos , Inflamação/imunologia , Inflamação/patologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Regulação para CimaRESUMO
Immune suppressing molecule CD73 is overexpressed in various cancers and associated with poor survival. Little is so far known about the predictive value of CD73 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of CD73 in PDAC. The study material consisted of 110 radically treated patients for PDAC. Tissue microarray blocks were constructed and stained immunohistochemically using CD73 antibody. Staining intensity and numbers of stained tumour cells, inflammatory cells, stroma, and blood vessels were assessed. High-level CD73 expression in tumour cells was positively associated with PD-L1 expression, perineural invasion, and histopathological grade. CD73 positivity in tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis. Lymphocytic CD73 positivity was also associated with staining positivity in both stroma and vascular structures. In addition, CD73 positivity in vascular structures and stroma were associated with each other. There were no significant associations between CD73 positive tumour cells and CD73 positivity in any other cell types. PD-L1 expression was associated with CD73 staining positivity in stroma (p = 0.007) and also with histopathological grade (p = 0.033) and T class (p = 0.016) of the primary tumour. CD73 positivity in tumour cells was significantly associated with poor disease-specific (p = 0.021) and overall survival (p = 0.016). In multivariate analysis, CD73 positivity in tumour cells was an independent negative prognostic factor together with histopathological grade, TNM stage, and low immune cell score. In conclusion, high CD73 expression in tumour cells is associated with poor survival in PDAC independently of the number of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes or TNM stage.
