Lymphocyte subsets in patients with brain tumors.

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Oncology
• Immunology

Background:

• Intracranial neoplasms can affect systemic immunity.
• T lymphocyte subsets play a crucial role in immune regulation.
• Understanding immune alterations in brain tumor patients is vital for prognosis and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate T lymphocyte subset profiles in patients with intracranial neoplasms.
• To compare immune status between malignant and benign brain tumors.
• To correlate immune changes with tumor type and clinical status.

Main Methods:

• Peripheral blood samples were collected from 27 patients with intracranial tumors (12 malignant, 15 benign) and 25 healthy controls.
• Monoclonal antibodies against lymphocyte membrane markers were used for T cell subset analysis.
• Flow cytometry quantified T lymphocyte subsets, including OKT4/8 ratio and Leu-11+ cells.

Main Results:

• The OKT4/8 cell ratio was significantly lower in the malignant group (1.4 +/- 0.4) compared to the control group (2.1 +/- 0.8) (p < 0.05).
• Leu-11+ cells were significantly increased in the malignant group (9.7 +/- 4.7) versus the control group (7.8 +/- 2.7) (p < 0.05).
• Benign tumor patients showed intermediate values for both parameters.

Conclusions:

• Malignant intracranial neoplasms are associated with significant alterations in T lymphocyte subsets.
• Decreased OKT4/8 ratio and increased Leu-11+ cells may indicate immune dysregulation in brain tumor patients.
• Neurohormonal imbalance via the brain-endocrine axis may modulate lymphocyte subsets, impacting brain tumor immunity.