engleski

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NKT AND T REGULATORY CELLS (Tregs) ON SYSTEMIC AND LOCAL IMMUNITY IN COLORECTAL CARCINOMA PATIENTS

Background: NKT cells are a subset of T cells that share properties of natural killer cells and conventional T cells. They are involved in innate immune responses, tumor rejection, post transplantation immunotherapy, immune surveillance and control of autoimmune diseases, as well as, in a number of pathological conditions, where they have been shown to regulate viral infections in vivo, and control tumor growth. They may play both protective and harmful roles in the progression of autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes type I, systemic lupus, atherosclerosis, and allergen-induced asthma. NK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes can use the perforin/granzyme pathway to kill virally infected cells, as well as tumor cells. Dysregulation of this pathway can be associated with the appearance of many serious diseases. Regulatory T (Treg) cells have active suppression mode and may induce peripheral tolerance. Dendritic cells (DCs) maturation and/or activation are important in the induction of peripheral tolerance and may control peripheral tolerance inducing the differentiation of Treg cells. The aim of this study: was to investigate the characteristics of human regulatory T and NKT cell, using a flow cytometric technique (FACSCalibur) for detecting phenotype of isolating human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), as well as the lymphocytes from the irrigating areas of lower mesenteric vein, of patients with colorectal carcinoma on systemic and local levels, comparing to healthy volunteers Results: our preliminary data has shown that this group of carcinoma patients has significantly augmented the numbers of cells responding for innate immune response, which correlates with the grade status of tumor. Despite enormous advancements in tumor immunology over the last two decades, the cascade of molecular events leading to immune-mediated tumor rejection is still incompletely understood and clinical results achieved with cancer vaccines are limited. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by grant from the Croatian Ministry of Science (project 0620096-0094).

colorectal cancer; innate immunity; NKT cells; Tregs

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