Evaluation of lymphocyte apoptosis in patients with oral cancer

Abstract

Evaluation of lymphocyte apoptosis in patients with oral cancer Objectives: To evaluate apoptotic levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and apoptotic regulatory proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) in lymphocyte subsets of oral cancer (OC) patients and healthy controls (HC). Methodology: The percentage of apoptotic cells and lymphocyte counts were measured in the first cohort using PBMCs obtained from 23 OC patients and 6 HC. In the second cohort, (OC, 33; HC, 13), the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of Bax and Bcl-2 in CD19 + B, CD4 + T, CD8 + T, and CD16 + 56 + natural killer (NK) cells was determined via flow cytometry. Results: The percentage of apoptotic cells was higher in the PBMCs of OC patients than in HC patients, particularly in patients with stage IV cancer (p<0.05). However, lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in stage IV patients (p<0.05). NK CD19 + B and CD16 + 56 + cell counts were significantly lower in OC patients compared with HC patients (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively), but CD4 + T cells were interestingly significantly higher in OC patients (p<0.001). While Bax MFI was slightly higher, Bcl-2 MFI was significantly lower for all four lymphocyte subsets in OC samples, particularly in stage IV patients, when compared with HC. Consequently, Bax/Bcl-2 ratios showed an upward trend from HC to OC patients, particularly those in stage IV. We found similar trends in Bax and Bcl-2 MFI for tumor stage, tumor size, and lymph node involvement. Conclusions: The increased lymphocyte apoptosis in stage IV OC patients may be related to higher Bax levels and lower Bcl-2 levels. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in lymphocytes may be useful to determine the prognosis of OC patients, and could be considered a mean for supportive treatment in the future.

An Insight into Survivin in Relevance to Hematological, Biochemical and Genetic Characteristics in Tobacco Chewers with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…They also found a high level of (Bax) Bcl-2 associated X, a pro-apoptotic protein, and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), an anti-apoptotic protein ratio, in oral cancer stage IV patients. Tumor size, lymph node involvement, and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were also higher in advance-stage tumors, which suggested that Bax/Bcl-2 ratio levels are associated with OSCC aggressiveness [92]. In our study also, we observed that 43 (68%) of the OSCC patients had peripheral lymphocyte levels <1.980, though not statistically significant, which suggests a poor prognosis in these patients, and the majority of our patients had advanced tumors.…”

Immunopotentiation effects of apigenin on NK cell proliferation and killing pancreatic cancer cells

“… 31 Bcl-2 and Bax are important factors affecting the survival and proliferation of NK cells, as well as other lymphocytes. 32 , 33 In order to understand the proliferation-related signaling pathway, we detected the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax both in mRNA and protein levels in NK cells induced by apigenin, and the Bcl-2 to Bax ratio was analyzed in this study. The results of qRT-PCR and Western blotting analysis showed that apigenin could inhibit gene and protein expression of Bax in NK cells after 72 h induction, especially in 5 μM and 10 μM dose groups.…”

Effects of Chrysin on Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma In Vitro

“…These findings support the idea that chrysin primarily affects tumor growth by inducing apoptosis via death receptors and/or activating proapoptotic members of the B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) pathway. 27,28 The limitations of the study were that all experiments were conducted in vitro and on only two cell lines (HSC4 and SCC25). To determine the clinical efficacy of chrysin on OSCC cells, additional in vitro and in vivo studies on additional OSCC cell lines are required.…”

“…These findings support the idea that chrysin primarily affects tumor growth by inducing apoptosis via death receptors and/or activating proapoptotic members of the B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) pathway. 27 28 …”