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Characterization of distinct immunophenotypes across pediatric brain tumor types
Andrea M Griesinger1, Diane K Birks, Andrew M Donson
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045;
Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|October 1, 2013
Summary
Pediatric brain tumors have distinct immune microenvironments. Pilocytic astrocytomas and ependymomas show more immune cells than glioblastomas and medulloblastomas, suggesting tailored immunotherapies.
Area of Science:
- Neuro-oncology
- Immunology
- Pediatric Oncology
Background:
- Antitumor immune control in pediatric brain tumors is recognized but not clinically applied.
- Defining the tumor microenvironment's immunophenotype is crucial for developing immunotherapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically characterize the immune cell infiltrate and phenotype in common pediatric brain tumor types.
- To compare the immunophenotypes across pilocytic astrocytoma, ependymoma, glioblastoma, and medulloblastoma.
Main Methods:
- Multicolor Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) of disaggregated tumor samples.
- Analysis of myeloid and T cell lineages and their activation/suppression markers.
- Validation using gene expression microarray data of immune marker genes.
Main Results:
- Pilocytic astrocytomas (PA) and ependymomas (EPN) exhibited significantly higher infiltrating myeloid and lymphoid cells compared to glioblastoma (GBM), medulloblastoma (MED), or non-tumor (NT) controls.
- PA and EPN showed an activated myeloid cell phenotype (HLA-DR, CD64 expression).
- GBM and MED had fewer leukocytes and more suppressed phenotypes, similar to NT.
Conclusions:
- Distinct pediatric brain tumor types possess unique immunophenotypes.
- These immunophenotypic differences suggest that tailored immunotherapeutic strategies may be required for optimal efficacy in each tumor type.
