We have located links that may give you full text access.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Activated status of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and apoptosis in testicular seminoma.
Journal of Pathology 2002 January
Testicular seminoma is characterized by a prominent lymphoid infiltrate and an excellent prognosis. Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) infiltrating seminoma tumour nests constitute a major subset of the lymphoid infiltrate. The objective of this study was to determine whether CTLs express markers of cytotoxic potential and activity and whether the number of activated CTLs correlates with the extent of apoptosis in testicular seminomas, as opposed to non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumours (NSTGCTs). Twenty cases of pure seminoma as well as 20 cases of NSTGCTs including 16 mixed germ cell tumours (MGCTs) were studied. Immunohistochemistry for the cytotoxic markers TIA-1 (cytotoxic potential) and granzyme B (cytotoxic activity) and the T-cell markers CD3 and CD8 was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. The apoptotic index (AI) was determined by the TUNEL method. The number of CD3(+), CD8(+), TIA-1(+), and granzyme B(+) cells in tumour cell nests was markedly increased in testicular seminomas, compared with NSTGCTs (p<0.01). Activated granzyme B(+) cells numbered 25.6+/-5.2 per high power field in seminomas and 8.9+/-3.2, 8.1+/-3.9, and 0.4+/-0.2 for embryonal carcinomas, yolk sac tumours, and immature teratomas, respectively. Double immunohistochemical staining for granzyme B and CD8 revealed that 82.6+/-8.5% of granzyme B-expressing cells were CD8(+). The tumour cell AI was significantly increased in embryonal carcinoma, compared with the seminoma, yolk sac tumour, and immature teratoma subgroups (6.7+/-1.3, 2.3+/-0.3, 3.0+/-1.1, and 2.3+/-1.1, respectively, p<0.001). TUNEL/CD3 double immunostaining revealed that a significant proportion of the apoptotic seminomatous tumour cells were in direct contact with one or more CD3(+) lymphocytes (47.2+/-6.2%). The number of activated granzyme B(+) CTLs showed a strong linear correlation with the AI in the seminoma group (r=0.71, p<0.0001) but not in other subgroups. TUNEL/granzyme B double immunolabelling revealed that a proportion of activated granzyme B(+) lymphocytes (20%) were often seen in close contact with apoptotic tumour cells. The presence of increased numbers of activated cytotoxic lymphocytes in testicular seminomas suggests that apoptotic tumour cell death in this neoplasm may be triggered by cytotoxic granule effectors. This phenomenon may be one of the key host immune mechanisms leading to the excellent prognosis in this tumour.
Full text links
Trending Papers
A Personalized Approach to the Management of Congestion in Acute Heart Failure.Heart International 2023
Potential Mechanisms of the Protective Effects of the Cardiometabolic Drugs Type-2 Sodium-Glucose Transporter Inhibitors and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Heart Failure.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024 Februrary 21
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app