K. Chikamatsu et al., ANALYSIS OF T-CELL RECEPTOR VARIABILITY IN FRESH TUMOR-INFILTRATING LYMPHOCYTES FROM HUMAN HEAD AND NECK-CANCER, Japanese journal of cancer research, 85(6), 1994, pp. 626-632
In this study, we analyzed T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements i
n tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) freshly obtained from 15 patien
ts with head and neck cancer using the reversely transcribed polymeras
e chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. These TILs showed preferential expre
ssion of V alpha 10, V alpha 8 and V alpha 1, detected in 13 (87%), 11
(73%), and 9 cases (60%), respectively. The TCRV beta gene revealed d
iversity without preferential usage. The head and neck region is expos
ed to bacteria and viruses, so it is possible that the tumor site can
become infected and accumulate T cells involved in infection and infla
mmation. Therefore, we also investigated TCR gene usage in T cells inf
iltrating in chronic sinusitis mucosa to address the question of wheth
er the V alpha 1, V alpha 8, and V alpha 10 subfamilies are characteri
stic in TIL from squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck. TCR V alpha
10 gene usage was also the most common in V alpha segment in T cells
infiltrating the sinus mucosa, but V alpha 1 and V alpha 8 were not de
tected in the T cells in sinusitis. These results indicate that the V
alpha 10 subfamily, the preferred T cell population in both TIL and T
cells in inflammatory disease, might be involved mainly in inflammatio
n or infection. On the other hand, V alpha 1 and V alpha 8 appear to b
e relatively specific populations for antitumor immunity in head and n
eck cancer.