The Express Level Of Regulatory T Cells (Tregs) In Colorectal Carcinoma And Its Clinical Significance

Objective Investigate the express of Macrophage-derived chemokine(MDC)and the specific marker of Tregs forkhead/winged helix transcription factor(Foxp3)in colorectal carcinoma and then analyze their correlation and their relationship with clinico-pathological features of colorectal carcinoma in order to explore the effect of regulatory T cells(Tregs)on tumor immunity in colorectal carcinoma. Materials and Methods Immunofluorescence technique(IF)and immunohistochemistry(IHC)were used to determine the expressive levels of Foxp3 and MDC protein in specimens collected from 52 patients with colorectal carcinoma which include both tumor and the proximal cutting edge,which were pathologically normal,to carry out statistic analysis compared with clinical features.Results Both the Foxp3 and MDC's protein expressive levels in colorectal carcinoma are significantly higher than that in normal control;There is statistical correlation between the expressive levels of the Foxp3 and MDC in colorectal carcinoma,but in proximal normal tissues there seems to be no relationship;There are correlations between Foxp3 expressive levels and colorectal carcinoma invasiveness, lymphatic metastasis,pathological grading as well as Dukes stage respectively,but no correlation between Foxp3 expression and pathological typing is found;There are correlations between MDC expressive levels and colorectal carcinoma invasiveness, lymphatic metastasis,pathological grading as well as Dukes stage respectively,but no correlation between Foxp3 expression and pathological typing is found.Conclusion Tregs play an important role in the occurrence and development of colorectal carcinoma,over expression of Foxp3 is an important factor that refrain effective anti-tumor immunologic response and lead to tumor immune escape;MDC/CCL22 can attract CCR4~+ Treg cells to the tumor,where they create a favorable environment for tumor escape from host immune responses;The evaluation and measurement of Foxp3 and MDC/CCL22 minght be used to predict the prognosis of patients with colorectal carcinoma;Down regulation of the expression of Foxp3 and MDC/CCL22 might contribute to raise anti-tumor immunity,which might act as a new method for the biotherapy of tumor.