Functional expression of CD11a on CD8+ cells is suppressed in regional lymph nodes with cancer involvement in patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma

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Abstract
BACKGROUND To evaluate the immunologic activity of regional lymph nodes, the phenotype of lymphocytes and the functional expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) on lymph node lymphocytes (LNL−: uninvolved, LNL+: involved) were investigated in patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma. METHODS The lymphocyte subpopulation and the expression of CD11a, CD44, and CD29 on CD4+ and CD8+ cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), LNL−, and LNL+ derived from 37 patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma were studied. In addition, the adherence of CD8+ cells to ICAM-1 which reflects the adhesive function of CD11a, was examined, and changes in this adherence were studied by experimental coculture with cancer cells (DLD-1). RESULTS Although there were no differences in the overall proportion of T cells between the groups, CD8+ cells and CD16+ cells were considerably diminished in LNL+. The expression of CD11a and CD29 on CD4+ and CD8+ cells was significantly lower in LNL than in PBL, whereas the expression of CD44 showed no significant differences. The expression levels of these CAMs were almost the same in LNL− and LNL+. Only CD11a expression on CD8+ cells in LNL+ was significantly lower than that in LNL− (P < 0.005). The adherence of CD8+ cells in LNL+ to ICAM-1 was lower than that in PBL and LNL−, and was extremely enhanced by experimental coculture with cancer cells (DLD-1). CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that the functional expression of CD11a (LFA-1) on CD8+ T cells is suppressed in cancer-involved regional lymph nodes in patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma. Cancer 1996;78:1677-85.