TITLE:
Effects of Chemotherapy on Peripheral Blood NK Cell Receptor NKG2D and Related Immune Cytokines in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
AUTHORS:
Jingjing Zhang, Dianbin Song, Yi Dong, Lu Bai, Dongqi Gao, Shenglin Zhang, Yan Guo, Fubo Li, Man Ao, Qingshan Li
KEYWORDS:
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Chemotherapy, NKG2D, Immune Cytokines
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.13 No.11,
November
21,
2022
ABSTRACT: Objective: To analyze the effect of chemotherapy on peripheral blood NK cell
receptor NKG2D and related immune cytokines (IL-12, IL-15, IL-18) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: A
total of 48 patients with NSCLC who visited the Oncology Department of the
Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College from September 2018 to September
2019 were selected as the study subjects. Changes in the expression levels of NKG2D, IL-12,
IL-15 and IL-18 in peripheral blood of patients at different time points
(before chemotherapy, after the first chemotherapy and after the second
chemotherapy) were analyzed to investigate the correlation between NKG2D and IL-12, IL-15 and IL-18 in
peripheral blood at each time point. Results: The expression levels of
NKG2D, IL-15, and IL-18 in the peripheral blood of the patient before
chemotherapy, after the first chemotherapy, and after the second chemotherapy
gradually decreased. After the first chemotherapy and the second chemotherapy,
the peripheral blood IL-12 was significantly lower than before chemotherapy,
and IL-12 in peripheral blood after the second chemotherapy was slightly
increased compared with that after the first chemotherapy. The comparison of
each factor at different time points was statistically significant (all P0.05). Pearson correlation
analysis showed that after the first chemotherapy, NKG2D in peripheral blood
was positively correlated with IL-18 (r = 0.342, P = 0.031); after the second
chemotherapy, NKG2D in peripheral blood was positively correlated with IL-18 (r
= 0.411, P = 0.023), negatively correlated with IL-15 (r = -0.451, P = 0.001). Conclusion: There was no significant change in the number of NK cells in the peripheral
blood of NSCLC patients after chemotherapy, while NKG2D and related immune
cytokines decreased, which may be one of the mechanisms for the suppression of
immune function in patients, and this provides a potential target for
immunotherapy in patients.