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Updated: Jan 2, 2026

In Vitro Assay to Study Tumor-macrophage Interaction
Published on: August 1, 2019
Differences in PD-L1-Expressing Macrophages and Immune Microenvironment in Testicular Germ Cell Tumors
Sam Sadigh1, Sahar J Farahani1, Abhishek Shah1
1Department of Anatomic Pathology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Objectives:
To characterize the tumor microenvironment of testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) using immunohistochemical markers.
Methods:
Seventy-seven orchiectomies, including 36 nonmetastatic (NM) seminomas, 15 metastatic (M) seminomas, 13 nonmetastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs), and 13 metastatic NSGCTs, were studied with PD-1, PD-L1, FOXP3, CD68, CD163, and mismatch repair (MMR) immunohistochemistry. FOXP3+ and PD-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) expressing CD68 and CD163 were enumerated. PDL-1 expression was evaluated on tumor cells and macrophages.
Results:
GCTs primarily express PD-L1 on TAMs, except choriocarcinoma, where true tumor cell positivity was noted. Seminomas reveal increased intratumoral PD-L1+ TAMs compared with NSGCTs (P < .05). Activated TILs are increased in NM-seminomas compared with M-seminomas (P < .05). All GCTs retained MMR expression.
Conclusions:
Robust PD-L1+ TAMs are significantly expanded in seminomas compared with NSGCTs. Among all GCTs, only choriocarcinoma cells reveal true positivity for PD-L1. These findings expand the realm of potentially targeted treatments for GCTs.
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