Article
Expression of immune checkpoint markers and association with inflammatory cell infiltration in vestibular schwannomas
Expression von Immuncheckpoint Markern und der Zusammenhang mit inflammatorischen Zellinfiltraten in Vestibularisschwannomen
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Published: | May 25, 2022 |
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Outline
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Objective: The role of the immune microenvironment in vestibular schwannoma formation and progression receives increasing attention. First descriptions of the detection of immune checkpoint markers have been published, and respective targets for innovative therapeutic approaches may be promising. This led us to evaluate the expression of PD-L1, CTLA4, CD47 and SIRP-alpha vestibular schwannomas regarding its association with inflammatory cell infiltration and clinical aspects.
Methods: We evaluated the immunohitochemical expression of the immune checkpoint markers PD-L1, CTLA4, CD47 and SIRP-alpha in 20 whole section vestibular schwannoma tissue samples, divided into 10 samples each with high and low inflammatory cell infiltration (according to CD68, CD163, CD3 and CD8 expression). Immunohistochemical expression was quantitatively scored for each marker.
Results: There were no differences in the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 and CTLA4 between VS with high and low inflammatory infiltration, although both markers were expressed by most samples (mean immunopositivity 31% and 4%, respectively). Higher expression scores in tumors with high inflammatory cell infiltration was seen for SIRP-alpha (49% vs. 13% mean immunopositivity) and CD47 (7/10 vs. 4/10 immunopositive cases).
Conclusion: SIRP-alpha and CD47 expression may be associated with the inflammatory microenvironment observed in vestibular schwannomas.