Browsing by Subject "extracellular vesicles"

Background: 5-year survival rate of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) has been low (less than 60%) despite developing treatment modalities. A previous research revealed that different populations of inflammatory cells infiltration in OTSCC were associated with different clinical outcomes. On the other hand, extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by OTSCC cells suggested crosstalk between OTSCC cells and tumor infiltrating inflammatory cells. Study aims: This study aims to investigate the interaction between OTSCC cells and inflammatory cells and answer 3 questions: (1) Can human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) affect activities of OTSCC cells such as proliferation, migration and invasion? (2) Can EVs of OTSCC cells affect polarization of macrophages? (3) Can EVs of OTSCC cells affect cytotoxic activity of CD8+ T cells and NK cells? Materials and methods: Two OTSCC cell lines (HSC-3 and SCC-25) were used. OTSCC cells and human peripheral blood MNCs were co-cultured using a 3D organotypic myoma model. Proliferation and invasion into myoma tissue of OTSCC cells were detected by Immunohistochemical staining of pan-cytokeratin and Ki67. Invasion area and depth of OTSCC cells were measured using ImageJ software. Migration of OTSCC cells in the presence of MNCs was monitored using a scratch wound healing assay with IncuCyte™ system. OTSCC EVs were isolated with ultracentrifugation and characterized with NTA and Immuno-EM. Human primary monocytes, CD8+ T cells and NK cells were isolated using MACS, and their purity was checked using FACS. Expression of macrophage phenotypic markers was checked with qPCR. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated using an IncyCyte™ cell killing assay. Results: Activated human peripheral blood MNCs significantly reduced proliferation of both OTSCC cell lines, and invasion area of only HSC-3. None of the inflammatory cells in the experiment had any effect on invasion depth and migration of OTSCC cells. On the other hand, OTSCC cell-derived EVs didn't influence macrophage polarization, but had heterogeneous modulating effects on cytotoxic activity of CD8+ T cells and NK cells. Conclusion: We detected effects of OTSCC cells and inflammatory cells on each other by secreted molecule mediators or EVs, but the results were not uniform and varied in different OTSCC cell lines or inflammatory cell populations and sources. The outcome of the study emphasizes the importance of a personalized design of cancer treatment, which takes other components in tumor microenvironment such as inflammatory cells and EVs into consideration.