Evaluation of lymphocyte apoptosis in patients with oral cancer
Objectives: To evaluate apoptotic levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and apoptotic regulatory proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) in lymphocyte subsets of oral cancer (OC) patients and healthy controls (HC). Methodology: The percentage of apoptotic cells and lymphocyte counts were measured in...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Estado: | Versão publicada |
| Data de publicação: | 2021 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Recursos: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP) |
| Repositório: | Journal of applied oral science (Online) |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:revistas.usp.br:article/190453 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://www.revistas.usp.br/jaos/article/view/190453 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Apoptosis Bax/Bcl-2 Lymphocyte Oral cancer Neoplasm staging |
| Resumo: | Objectives: To evaluate apoptotic levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and apoptotic regulatory proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) in lymphocyte subsets of oral cancer (OC) patients and healthy controls (HC). Methodology: The percentage of apoptotic cells and lymphocyte counts were measured in the first cohort using PBMCs obtained from 23 OC patients and 6 HC. In the second cohort, (OC, 33; HC, 13), the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of Bax and Bcl-2 in CD19+ B, CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and CD16+56+ natural killer (NK) cells was determined via flow cytometry. Results: The percentage of apoptotic cells was higher in the PBMCs of OC patients than in HC patients, particularly in patients with stage IV cancer (p<0.05). However, lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in stage IV patients (p<0.05). NK CD19+ B and CD16+56+ cell counts were significantly lower in OC patients compared with HC patients (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively), but CD4+ T cells were interestingly significantly higher in OC patients (p<0.001). While Bax MFI was slightly higher, Bcl-2 MFI was significantly lower for all four lymphocyte subsets in OC samples, particularly in stage IV patients, when compared with HC. Consequently, Bax/Bcl-2 ratios showed an upward trend from HC to OC patients, particularly those in stage IV. We found similar trends in Bax and Bcl-2 MFI for tumor stage, tumor size, and lymph node involvement. Conclusions: The increased lymphocyte apoptosis in stage IV OC patients may be related to higher Bax levels and lower Bcl-2 levels. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in lymphocytes may be useful to determine the prognosis of OC patients, and could be considered a mean for supportive treatment in the future. |
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