Author(s):
Gullo, Irene ; Costa, Catarina ; Silva, Susana L. ; Ferreira, Cristina ; Motta, Adriana ; Silva, Sara P. ; Duarte Ferreira, Ruben ; Rosmaninho, Pedro ; Faria, Emília ; Costa, José Torres da ; Câmara, Rita ; Gonçalves, Gilza ; Santos-Antunes, João ; Oliveira, Carla ; Machado, José C. ; Carneiro, Fátima ; Sousa, Ana E.
Date: 2020
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/46305
Origin: Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
Subject(s): Gastric cancer; Common variable immunodeficiency; Immune microenvironment; Helicobacter pylori; Lymphocytic gastritis; Immune dysfunctionality; Inborn errors of immunity
Description
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 (n = 6/9; 66.7%) and at younger age (median-age: 43y), when compared to non-CVID patients (p < 0.001). GC pathogenesis was closely related to Helicobacter pylori infection (n = 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 (p < 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.
