Tumor-suppressive effect of Reg3A in COAD is mediated by T cell activation in nude mice

Regenerating family protein 3 A (Reg3A) is highly expressed in a variety of organs and inflammatory tissues, and is closely related to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, clinical statistics show that high expression of Reg3A is associated with better prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, suggesting a tumor-suppressive effect. The precise action and underlying mechanism of Reg3A in CRC remain controversial. The present study sought to investigate the relationship among Reg3A expression, CRC development, and immune cell alteration in patients using the TCGA, GEPIA, PrognoScan, TIMER and TISIDB databases. Reg3A-overexpressing LoVo cell line (LoVo-Reg3A), a representative of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), was constructed and the action of Reg3A was assessed in a xenograft nude mouse model. Our bioinformatical analyses revealed that Reg3A upregulation is highly associated with CRC, along with increased frequency of immune cell infiltration. In the xenograft nude mice, Reg3A overexpression offered a tumor-suppressive effect by inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis. The result of RNA-seq suggested a positive regulation of leukocytes and an upregulation of T cells in LoVo-Reg3A tumor tissue. CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in tumors, splenic Reg3A-reactive IFN-γ⁺/CD4⁺ T cells, and serum TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-17 were significantly increased by Reg3A overexpression. In the ex vivo co-culture experiment, elevated cytotoxic effect, increased proportion of CD3ε⁺ T cells, and upregulated expressions of TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-17 were detected in the PBMCs isolated from LoVo-Reg3A cell-xenografted nude mice. In conclusion, high expression of Reg3A could activate and recruit T cells in COAD leading to the cytotoxic tumor-suppressive effect.