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Research Paper|Volume 13, Issue 1|pp 437—449

Accumulation of LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors with chronic hepatitis B might permit immune tolerance to epstein–barr virus and relate to tumor recurrence

Xing Li1,2, Jin-Long Li1,3, Nan Jiang4, Jie Chen2, Zi-Ming Liang4, Zhen-Lin Zhao1, Yan-Fang Xing5
  • 1Shenzhen Ruipuxun Academy for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Shenzhen 518118, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Department of Medical Oncology and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China
  • 3Institute of Biotherapy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, People’s Republic of China
  • 4Department of Transplantation, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology and the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen 510623, People's Republic of China
  • 5Department of Nephrology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, People’s Republic of China
* Equal contribution
Received: June 30, 2020Accepted: October 3, 2020Published: December 3, 2020
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202149

Copyright: © 2020 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) has been reported to be associated with impaired prognosis for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the latent mechanism is unclear. Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) induce immune suppression in CHB and promote the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Lectin-type oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) was recently identified as a specific marker for PMN-MSDC. We found NPC survivors with CHB had high levels of LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs. LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs significantly reduced T cell proliferation and activation. Endoplasmic reticulum stress was induced in LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs. In addition, LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs increased their expression of NOX2, a key reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related genes, and levels of ROS illustrated by the DCFDA test. The ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine abrogated the suppression of LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs on T cell activation. The EBV DNA-positivity rate was higher in NPC survivors with CHB than in NPC patients without CHB. Those presenting with positive EBV DNA displayed higher LOX-1+ PMN-MDSC levels. LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs suppressed the CD8+ T cell response against EBV. This study revealed LOX-1+ PMN-MDSC accumulation and activation in NPC survivors with CHB. LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs might suppress the host immune response to EBV through ER stress/ROS pathway. These results explained the association of CHB with unfavorable NPC prognosis.