Clinical and Prognostic Value of Antigen-Presenting Cells with PD-L1/PD-L2 Expression in Ovarian Cancer Patients

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-10, Vol.22 (21), p.11563
• Main Authors: Pawłowska, Anna, Kwiatkowska, Agnieszka, Suszczyk, Dorota, Chudzik, Agata, Tarkowski, Rafał, Barczyński, Bartłomiej, Kotarski, Jan, Wertel, Iwona
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antigen-presenting cells; Antigen-Presenting Cells - metabolism; Antigen-Presenting Cells - pathology; Antigens; Apoptosis; Ascitic Fluid - metabolism; Ascitic Fluid - pathology; B7-H1 Antigen - metabolism; Blood & organ donations; Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial - metabolism; Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial - pathology; Cell death; Dendritic cells; Dendritic Cells - metabolism; Dendritic Cells - pathology; Female; Flow cytometry; Humans; immune suppression; Immunoregulation; immunotherapy; Ligands; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; Monocytes; Ovarian cancer; Ovarian Neoplasms - metabolism; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; Patients; PD-1 protein; PD-L1 protein; Peripheral blood; Peritoneal fluid; Peritoneum; Prognosis; Programmed Cell Death 1 Ligand 2 Protein - metabolism; programmed cell death pathway; Tumor microenvironment; Tumor Microenvironment - physiology; Tumors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111563

The latest literature demonstrates the predominant role of the programmed cell death axis (PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2) in ovarian cancer (OC) pathogenesis. However, data concerning this issue is ambiguous. Our research aimed to evaluate the clinical importance of PD-L1/PD-L2 expression in OC environments. We evaluated the role of PD-L1/PD-L2 in OC patients ( = 53). The analysis was performed via flow cytometry on myeloid (mDCs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and monocytes/macrophages (MO/MA) in peripheral blood, peritoneal fluid (PF), and tumor tissue (TT). The data were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of OC patients. The concentration of soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) and PD-1 in the plasma and PF were determined by ELISA. We established an accumulation of PD-L1 /PD-L2 mDCs, pDCs, and MA in the tumor microenvironment. We showed an elevated level of sPD-L1 in the PF of OC patients in comparison to plasma and healthy subjects. sPD-L1 levels in PF showed a positive relationship with Ca125 concentration. Moreover, we established an association between higher sPD-L1 levels in PF and shorter survival of OC patients. An accumulation of PD-L1 /PD-L2 mDCs, pDCs, and MA in the TT and high sPD-L1 levels in PF could represent the hallmark of immune regulation in OC patients.