The distribution of LAP+ CD4+ T cells in gastric carcinoma microenvironment and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the distribution of LAP+ CD4+ T cells in gastric carcinoma microenvironment and the correlation of LAP+ CD4+ T cells with the progression of gastric tumor. Methods Forty gastric tumor patients and 20 healthy donors were enrolled in this study. The percentage of LAP+ CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood and tumor tissue was detected by flow cytometry. The correlation of LAP+ CD4+ T cells with the progression of gastric tumor was analyzed. Results The percentage of LAP+ CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood of gastric tumor patients was higher than that of health donors: (10.9±3.3)% vs. (4.3 ± 1.2)%; the percentage of LAP+ CD4+ T cells from tumor tissue was higher than that from non-tumor tissue: (13.5 ± 5.3)% vs. (4.7 ± 1.4)%. The percentage of LAP+ CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood from metastasis patients was higher than that from non-metastasis patients and health donors: (10.1 ± 6.4)% vs. (4.5 ± 1.3)% and (4.3 ± 1.2)%. Conclusions LAP+ CD4+ T cells accumulates in gastric carcinoma microenvironment and the percentage of LAP+ CD4+ T cells increases along with the progression of gastric tumor. Key words: LAP+ CD4+ T cell; Gastric cancer; Tumor microenvironment