Background and Aims: Radiotherapy is an efficient remedy in the treatment of bladder carcinoma (BCa); still some cancer cells can survive from the radiation; the therapeutic effect is to be improved.
Regulatory T cells (Treg)-induced tumor tolerance and Akt expression play important roles in the tumor survival. This study aims to elucidate the role of radiation induces Akt expression in Tregs.
Methods: The surgically removed BCa tissue was collected from 26 patients treated with or without radiotherapy. The frequency of Tregs and apoptotic Tregs in BCa tissue was assessed by flow cytometry. A cell culture model was employed to investigate the mechanism by which the tumor infiltrating Tregs survive from radiation.
Results:After radiotherapy, the frequency of Treg was increased in the BCa tissue; the apoptotic Tregs were decreased; the expression of Akt was increased in remained Tregs. The results were reproduced in vitro with a cell culture model. The addition of Akt inhibitor blocked the radiation-induced Treg survival in culture.
Conclusions: Akt plays an important role in the radiation-induced tumor infiltrating Treg survival in BCa.
Written by:
Wang M, Gou X, Wang L. Are you the author?
Department of Urology; The First Affiliated Hospital Chongqing Medical University; Chongqing, China.
Reference: Scand J Immunol. 2012 Apr 9. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2012.02707.x
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22486221