Deciphering the complex circulating immune cell microenvironment in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia using patient similarity networks

Autor: Milos Kudelka, Jan Molinsky, Gayane Manukyan, Renata Urbanova, Martin Simkovic, Eliska Ochodkova, Peter Turcsanyi, Pavlina Ryznerova, Ondrej Janca, Jan Novák, Eva Kriegova, Zuzana Mikulková, David Starostka, Tomas Papajik, Yvona Brychtová, Lekaa Mohammad, Martin Dihel, Jakub Savara
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
ISSN: 2045-2322
Popis: Background: The tissue microenvironment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) plays a key role in promoting neoplastic cell survival, proliferation, and drug resistance. There is a lack of complex characterization of CLL blood microenvironment and its clinical impact. Methods: Immunophenotypic profiles of circulating immune cells in 244 CLL patients (untreated, n=123; novel agents, n=67; previous immunochemotherapy, n=54) and age/sex-matched healthy controls (n=52) were assessed using flow cytometry and analyzed by multivariate patient similarity networks (PSNs). Results: Our study revealed high inter-individual heterogeneity in distribution and activation status of bystander immune cells in CLL, depending on the bulk of CLL cells. High CLL counts were associated with low activation status on circulating monocytes, T and NK cells and vice versa low CLL counts with high activation of immune cells, reaching levels in controls. Regarding treatment, the highest activation of immune cells, particularly of intermediate and non-classical monocytes, was evident in patients treated with novel agents. Clustering and visualization using PSNs confirmed low activation of immune cells in progressive disease, irrespectively of IgHV status and Binet stage. Calculating time-to-event endpoint, patients with high intermediate monocytes (>5.4%), predominantly low activated, were associated with 2.5-fold higher likelihood (95% CI 1.421-4.403, P =0.002) of event than those with low percentage of intermediate monocytes. Conclusions: Activation of circulating immune cells are dependent on the CLL cell counts and used therapy, with the lowest activation in patients with progressive disease. Percentage and activation of intermediate monocytes could be of prognostic value in CLL.
Databáze: OpenAIRE