Abstract:

Objective To investigate the distribution of naïve T cell and memory T cell subsets in the peripheral blood of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods A total of 25 NSCLC patients from the Oncology Department of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June to December 2018 were included in the study, and 20 healthy volunteers in the same period were used as controls. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the naïve T cell and memory T cell subsets in peripheral blood. The results were analyzed by SPSS 16.0. Results The percentage and absolute number of naïve T cell/stem-like central memory T cells (T_N/SCM) in NSCLC patients declined compared to the control group [(7.71±1.11)% vs. (15.84±2.00)%, t=3.685, P=0.001; (8.38±1.23)×10⁷/L vs. (3.40±0.43)×10⁸/L, t=6.130, P<0.001]. The percentage and absolute number of central memory T cells (T_CM) in NSCLC patients declined compared to the control group [(6.62±1.16)% vs. (17.88±0.83)%, t=7.641, P<0.001; (7.98±1.78)×10⁷/L vs. (3.40±0.31)×10⁸/L, t=9.028, P<0.001]. The absolute number of CD8⁺T_CM in NSCLC patients declined compared to the control group [(5.19±1.04)×10⁶/L vs. (1.49±0.15)×10⁷/L, t=5.561, P<0.001]. The percentage of effector memory T cells (T_EM) in NSCLC patients increased compared to the control group [(38.27±2.01)% vs. (17.37±1.06)%, t=8.776, P<0.001]. The percentage and absolute number of CD8⁺T_EM in NSCLC patients increased compared to the control group [(13.93±1.55)% vs. (4.65±0.52)%, t=5.310, P<0.001; (1.48±0.14)×10⁸/L vs. (9.97±1.14)×10⁷/L, t=2.584, P=0.014]. The percentage of effector memory T cells re-expressing CD45RA (T_EMRA) in NSCLC patients increased compared to the control group [(17.33±1.86)% vs. (8.48±1.01)%, t=3.989, P<0.001]. The percentage and absolute number of CD8⁺T_CM in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ patients declined compared to stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ patients [(0.33±0.06)% vs. (0.89±0.34)%, t=2.600, P=0.020; (3.99±0.84)×10⁶/L vs. (9.03±3.07)×10⁶/L, t=2.270, P=0.040]. There were no statistically significant differences in the naïve T cells and memory T cell subsets of NSCLC patients with different pathological types. Conclusion In NSCLC patients, the naïve/memory T cell subsets are changed compared with the healthy volunteers. The T_N/SCM and T_CM those with the characteristics of differentiation ability and long-term survival are reduced, and those of the stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ patients are reduced significantly. T_EM and T_EMRA with immunological effect are increased significantly.

Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung, Naïve T cells, Memory T cell subsets