The Dysfunctional Immune System in Common Variable Immunodeficiency Increases the Susceptibility to Gastric Cancer

oleh: Irene Gullo, Catarina Costa, Susana L. Silva, Cristina Ferreira, Adriana Motta, Sara P. Silva, Rúben Duarte Ferreira, Pedro Rosmaninho, Emília Faria, José Torres da Costa, Rita Câmara, Gilza Gonçalves, João Santos-Antunes, Carla Oliveira, José C. Machado, Fátima Carneiro, Ana E. Sousa

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-06-01

Deskripsi

Gastric carcinoma (GC) represents the most common cause of death in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). However, a limited number of cases have been characterised so far. In this study, we analysed the clinical features, bacterial/viral infections, detailed morphology and immune microenvironment of nine CVID patients with GC. The study of the immune microenvironment included automated digital counts of CD20+, CD4+, CD8+, FOXP3+, GATA3+ and CD138+ immune cells, as well as the evaluation of PD-L1 expression. Twenty-one GCs from non-CVID patients were used as a control group. GC in CVID patients was diagnosed mostly at early-stage (<i>n</i> = 6/9; 66.7%) and at younger age (median-age: 43y), when compared to non-CVID patients (<i>p</i> < 0.001). GC pathogenesis was closely related to <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection (<i>n</i> = 8/9; 88.9%), but not to Epstein-Barr virus (0.0%) or cytomegalovirus infection (0.0%). Non-neoplastic mucosa (non-NM) in CVID-patients displayed prominent lymphocytic gastritis (100%) and a dysfunctional immune microenvironment, characterised by higher rates of CD4+/CD8+/Foxp3+/GATA3+/PD-L1+ immune cells and the expected paucity of CD20+ B-lymphocytes and CD138+ plasma cells, when compared to non-CVID patients (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Changes in the immune microenvironment between non-NM and GC were not equivalent in CVID and non-CVID patients, reflecting the relevance of immune dysfunction for gastric carcinogenesis and GC progression in the CVID population.