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Introduction: Cellular immune response to cancer is known to be of great importance for tumor control. Moreover, solid tumors influence circulating lymphocytes, which has been shown for several types of cancer. In our prospective study we elucidate changes in lymphocyte subsets in patients with colorectal carcinoma compared to healthy volunteers. Methods: Flow cytometry was performed at diagnosis of colon carcinoma to analyze B cells, T cells and NK cells including various subtypes of each group. Univariate and multivariate analyses including age, gender, tumor stage, sidedness and microsatellite instability status (MSI) were performed. Results: Forty-seven patients and 50 healthy volunteers were included. Median age was 65 years in patients and 43 years in the control group. Univariate analysis revealed lower total lymphocyte counts, lower CD4 + cells, CD8 + cells, B cells and NKs including various of their subsets in patients. In multivariate analysis patients had inferior values of B cells, CD4 + cells and NK cells and various subsets, regardless of age and gender. Naïve, central memory and HLADR + CD8 + cells showed an increase in patients whereas all other altered subsets declined. MSI status had no influence on circulating lymphocytes except for higher effector memory CD8 + cells in MSI-high patients. Localization in the left hemicolon led to higher values of total cytotoxic T cells and various T cell subsets. Conclusion: We found significant changes in circulating lymphocyte subsets in colon carcinoma patients, independent of physiological alterations due to gender or age. For some lymphocyte subsets significant differences according to tumor localization or MSI-status could be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Breast cancer tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes associate with clinico-pathological factors, including survival, although the literature includes many conflicting findings. Our aim was to assess these associations for key lymphocyte subtypes and in different tumour compartments, to determine whether these provide differential correlations and could, therefore, explain published inconsistencies. Uniquely, we also examine whether infiltrating levels merely reflect systemic lymphocyte levels or whether local factors are predominant in recruitment. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect tumour-infiltrating CD20+ (B), CD4+ (helper T), CD8+ (cytotoxic T) and FoxP3+ (regulatory T) cells in breast cancers from 62 patients, with quantification in tumour stroma, tumour cell nests, and tumour margins. Levels were analysed with respect to clinico-pathological characteristics and matched circulating levels (determined by flow-cytometry). Results: CD4+ lymphocytes were the most prevalent subtype in tumour stroma and at tumour edge and CD8+ lymphocytes were most prevalent in tumour nests; FoxP3+ lymphocytes were rarest in all compartments. High grade or hormone receptor negative tumours generally had significantly increased lymphocytes, especially in tumour stroma. Only intra-tumoural levels of CD8+ lymphocytes correlated significantly with matched circulating levels (p < 0.03), suggesting that recruitment is mainly unrelated to systemic activity. High levels of stromal CD4+ and CD20+ cells associated with improved survival in hormone receptor negative cases (p < 0.04), while tumour nest CD8+ and FoxP3+ cells associated with poor survival in hormone receptor positives (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Lymphocyte subtype and location define differential impacts on tumour biology, therefore, roles of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes will only be unravelled through thorough analyses that take this into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this retrospective case-control study, we compared the number of circulating lymphocyte subsets among 31 healthy controls, 18 naïve and 40 antiretroviral-treated HIV patients, 28 untreated and 18 treated relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Lymphocyte subsets were no different between untreated MS patients and controls. Untreated and treated MS had a lower CD8+ count and a higher CD4+ number compared to untreated and treated HIV patients except similar CD4+ number between treated MS and HIV patients. CD4/CD8 ratio was lower in female HIV non-responders and in relapsing MS women compared, respectively, to female HIV responders and remitting MS women, and there were no differences in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methodological aspects of (Na,K)-ATPase-dependent uptake ofRb, a potassium analog, were examined on human lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood. The study of the time-course, the kinetic parameters, i.e., maximum velocity (V) and Michaelis constant (K) and the ouabain inhibition curve ofRb uptake confirm that circulating lymphocytes represent a suitable model for the study of (Na,K)-ATPase in human diseases. An application to human obesity is reported: the results indicate thatRb uptake on circulating lymphocytes is similar in obese and non-obese subjects. Therefore, (Na,K)-ATPase does not seem to be involved in the pathogenesis of human obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]