Premium
Follicular lymphoma B cells induce the conversion of conventional CD4 + T cells to T‐regulatory cells
Author(s) -
Ai Weiyun Z.,
Hou JingZhou,
Zeiser Robert,
Czerwinski Debra,
Negrin Robert S.,
Levy Ronald
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.23881
Subject(s) - follicular lymphoma , follicular phase , lymphoma , cancer research , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , chemistry , medicine , immunology
Abstract There has been accumulating evidence that CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3 expressing regulatory T cells (Treg) are highly concentrated in tumors, thereby fostering an immune‐privileged microenvironment. Some studies have shown that T‐cell receptor (TCR) stimulation can convert conventional T cells into Treg. Follicular lymphoma (FL) B cells can enhance this Treg conversion. We investigated whether FL tumor B cells, as opposed to normal B cells, are unique in their ability to convert effector T cells into Treg. We found that tumor B cells alone, without artificial TCR stimulation, could induce conventional T cells to express FoxP3 and to acquire regulatory function. In contrast to their malignant counterpart, normal B cells did not induce Treg conversion. Treg conversion was independent of the T cell background, as T cells isolated from FL or normal peripheral blood were equally susceptible to being converted by tumor B cells. Our study provides evidence for a tumor‐specific mechanism by which FL tumor cells promote immune escape through the induction of Treg. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.