CD8 T-cells Co-expressing PD-1 and TIGIT Are Highly Frequent in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Hajiasghar-Sharbaf, Reza; Asgarian-Omran, Hossein; Valadan, Reza; Hossein-Nattaj, Hadi; Shekarriz, Ramin; Zaboli, Ehsan; Janbabaei, Ghasem; Tehrani, Mohsen

The role of immune checkpoint receptors in T-cell exhaustion has been demonstrated in several cancers. We investigated the co-expression of TIGIT/PD-1 and LAG-3/PD-1 cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The frequencies of TIGIT PD-1 CD8 and LAG-3 PD-1 CD8 cells and relative mRNA expression of LSECtin and CD155 were examined in PBMCs from 33 CLL patients and 20 controls. The percentage of TIGIT PD-1 CD8 cells was significantly higher in CLL patients than in control subjects, with the preference in advanced stage patients. However, LAG-3 PD-1 CD8 cell percentage was significantly lower in CLL patients than in the control subjects and no significant difference were found between the early and advanced stages of the disease. An increase in the mRNA expression level of LSECtin, but not that of CD155, was observed in CLL patients compared to the control subjects. Collectively, a higher co-expression of PD-1 and TIGIT on CD8 T-cells in CLL compared to control subjects suggests an important role of TIGIT in T-cell exhaustion in CLL patients especially those with advanced disease.

CHRONIC lymphocytic leukemia; CD8 antigen; IMMUNE checkpoint proteins; PROGRAMMED cell death 1 receptors; GENE expression

Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2021, Vol 20, Issue 6, p751

1735-1502

Academic Journal

10.18502/ijaai.v20i6.8027