Immune cell infiltrate differences in pilocytic astrocytoma and glioblastoma: evidence of distinct immunological microenvironments that reflect tumor biology

Object The tumor microenvironment in astrocytomas is composed of a variety of cell types, including infiltrative inflammatory cells that are dynamic in nature, potentially reflecting tumor biology. In this paper the authors demonstrate that characterization of the intratumoral inflammatory infiltrate can distinguish high-grade glioblastoma from low-grade pilocytic astrocytoma. Methods Tumor specimens from ninety-one patients with either glioblastoma or pilocytic astrocytoma were analyzed at the University of California, San Francisco. A systematic neuropathology analysis was performed. All tissue was collected at the time of the initial surgery prior to adjuvant treatment. Immune cell infiltrate not associated with necrosis or hemorrhage was analyzed on serial 4-μm sections. Analysis was performed for 10 consecutive hpfs and in 3 separate regions (total 30 × 0.237 mm2). Using immunohistochemistry for markers of infiltrating cytotoxic T cells (CD8), natural killer cells (CD56), and macrophages (CD68), the inflammatory infiltrates in these tumors were graded quantitatively and classified based on microanatomical location (perivascular vs intratumoral). Control markers included CD3, CD20, and human leukocyte antigen. Results Glioblastomas exhibited significantly higher perivascular (CD8) T-cell infiltration than pilocytic astrocytomas (62% vs 29%, p = 0.0005). Perivascular (49%) and intratumoral (89%; p = 0.004) CD56-positive cells were more commonly associated with glioblastoma. The CD68-positive cells also were more prevalent in the perivascular and intratumoral space in glioblastoma. In the intratumoral space, all glioblastomas exhibited CD68-positive cells compared with 86% of pilocytic astrocytomas (p = 0.0014). Perivascularly, CD68-positive infiltrate was also more prevalent in glioblastoma when compared with pilocytic astrocytoma (97% vs 86%, respectively; p = 0.0003). The CD3-positive, CD20-positive, and human leukocyte antigen-positive infiltrates did not differ between glioblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma. Conclusions This analysis suggests a significantly distinct immune profile in the microenvironment of high-grade glioblastoma versus low-grade pilocytic astrocytoma. This difference in tumor microenvironment may reflect an important difference in the tumor biology of glioblastoma.

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Tumor-associated immune cell infiltrate density in penile squamous cell carcinomas

Virchows Archiv ◽

10.1007/s00428-022-03271-1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Luca Hladek ◽

Katrin Bankov ◽

Jens von der Grün ◽

Natalie Filmann ◽

Melanie Demes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Overall Survival ◽

Squamous Cell ◽

Survival Data ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Tumor Biology ◽

Squamous Cell Carcinomas ◽

Cell Infiltrate ◽

Advanced Tumor ◽

Tumor Stages ◽

Immune Cell Infiltrate

AbstractPenile squamous cell carcinomas are rare tumor entities throughout Europe. Early lymphonodal spread urges for aggressive therapeutic approaches in advanced tumor stages. Therefore, understanding tumor biology and its microenvironment and correlation with known survival data is of substantial interest in order to establish treatment strategies adapted to the individual patient. Fifty-five therapy naïve squamous cell carcinomas, age range between 41 and 85 years with known clinicopathological data, were investigated with the use of tissue microarrays (TMA) regarding the tumor-associated immune cell infiltrate density (ICID). Slides were stained with antibodies against CD3, CD8 and CD20. An image analysis software was applied for evaluation. Data were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival. There was a significant increase of ICID in squamous cell carcinomas of the penis in relation to tumor adjacent physiological tissue. Higher CD3-positive ICID was significantly associated with lower tumor stage in our cohort. The ICID was not associated with overall survival. Our data sharpens the view on tumor-associated immune cell infiltrate in penile squamous cell carcinomas with an unbiased digital and automated cell count. Further investigations on the immune cell infiltrate and its prognostic and possible therapeutic impact are needed.

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Single-cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cell Diversity and Restricted Cytotoxic Effector Cell Trafficking and Activation During Malignant Progression in Glioma

10.1101/2021.09.24.461735 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sakthi Rajendran ◽

Clayton Peterson ◽

Alessandro Canella ◽

Yang Hu ◽

Amy Gross ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Tumor Microenvironment ◽

Single Cell ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Myeloid Cell ◽

Malignant Progression ◽

Low Grade ◽

Cell Trafficking ◽

High Grade ◽

Single Cell Rna Sequencing

Low grade gliomas (LGG) account for about two-thirds of all glioma diagnoses in adolescents and young adults (AYA) and malignant progression of these patients leads to dismal outcomes. Recent studies have shown the importance of the dynamic tumor microenvironment in high-grade gliomas (HGG), yet its role is still poorly understood in low-grade glioma malignant progression. Here, we investigated the heterogeneity of the immune microenvironment using a platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-driven RCAS (replication-competent ASLV long terminal repeat with a splice acceptor) glioma model that recapitulates the malignant progression of low to high-grade glioma in humans and also provides a model system to characterize immune cell trafficking and evolution. To illuminate changes in the immune cell landscape during tumor progression, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on immune cells isolated from animals bearing no tumor (NT), LGG and HGG, with a particular focus on the myeloid cell compartment, which is known to mediate glioma immunosuppression. LGGs demonstrated significantly increased infiltrating T cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells in the tumor microenvironment, whereas HGGs significantly abrogated this infiltration. Our study identified two distinct macrophage clusters in the tumor microenvironment; one cluster appeared to be bone marrow-derived while another was defined by overexpression of Trem2, a marker of tumor associated macrophages. Our data demonstrates that these two distinct macrophage clusters show an immune-activated phenotype (Stat1, Tnf, Cxcl9 and Cxcl10) in LGG which evolves to an immunosuppressive state (Lgals3, Apoc1 and Id2) in HGG that restricts T cell recruitment and activation. We identified CD74 and macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) as potential targets for these distinct macrophage populations. Interestingly, these results were mirrored by our analysis of the TCGA dataset, which demonstrated a statistically significant association between CD74 overexpression and decreased overall survival in AYA patients with grade II gliomas. Targeting immunosuppressive myeloid cells and intra-tumoral macrophages within this therapeutic window may ameliorate mechanisms associated with immunosuppression before and during malignant progression.

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Expression of FOXP3 in Canine Gliomas: Immunohistochemical Study of Tumor-Infiltrating Regulatory Lymphocytes

Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology ◽

10.1093/jnen/nlz120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 184-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dolors Pi Castro ◽

Roberto José-López ◽

Francisco Fernández Flores ◽

Rosa M Rabanal Prados ◽

Maria Teresa Mandara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Cell ◽

Low Grade ◽

Similar Distribution ◽

High Grade ◽

Human Gliomas ◽

Forkhead Box ◽

Astrocytic Gliomas ◽

The Difference ◽

Regulatory Lymphocytes ◽

The Brain

Abstract Dogs develop gliomas with similar histopathological features to human gliomas and share with them the limited success of current therapeutic regimens such as surgery and radiation. The tumor microenvironment in gliomas is influenced by immune cell infiltrates. The present study aims to immunohistochemically characterize the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) population of naturally occurring canine gliomas, focusing on the expression of Forkhead box P3-positive (FOXP3+) regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Forty-three canine gliomas were evaluated immunohistochemically for the presence of CD3+, FOXP3+, and CD20+ TILs. In low-grade gliomas, CD3+ TILs were found exclusively within the tumor tissue. In high-grade gliomas, they were present in significantly higher numbers throughout the tumor and in the brain-tumor junction. CD20+ TILs were rarely found in comparison to CD3+ TILs. FOXP3+ TILs shared a similar distribution with CD3+ TILs. The accumulation of FOXP3+ Tregs within the tumor was more pronounced in astrocytic gliomas than in tumors of oligodendroglial lineage and the difference in expression was significant when comparing low-grade oligodendrogliomas and high-grade astrocytomas. Only high-grade astrocytomas presented FOXP3+ cells with tumoral morphology. In spontaneous canine gliomas, TILs display similar characteristics (density and distribution) as described for human gliomas, supporting the use of the dog as an animal model for translational immunotherapeutic studies.

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Signaling pathways and immune evasion mechanisms in classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Hematology ◽

10.1182/asheducation-2017.1.310 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 (1) ◽

pp. 310-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

W. Robert Liu ◽

Margaret A. Shipp

Keyword(s):

Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽

Immune Evasion ◽

Copy Number ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽

Copy Number Alterations ◽

Cell Infiltrate ◽

Immune Cell Infiltrate ◽

Survival And Growth

Abstract Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is an unusual B-cell–derived malignancy in which rare malignant Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells are surrounded by an extensive but ineffective inflammatory/immune cell infiltrate. This striking feature suggests that malignant HRS cells escape immunosurveillance and interact with immune cells in the cancer microenvironment for survival and growth. We previously found that cHLs have a genetic basis for immune evasion: near-uniform copy number alterations of chromosome 9p24.1 and the associated PD-1 ligand loci, CD274/PD-L1 and PDCD1LG2/PD-L2, and copy number–dependent increased expression of these ligands. HRS cells expressing PD-1 ligands are thought to engage PD-1 receptor–positive immune effectors in the tumor microenvironment and induce PD-1 signaling and associated immune evasion. The genetic bases of enhanced PD-1 signaling in cHL make these tumors uniquely sensitive to PD-1 blockade.

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