Zhengzhou University Affiliated Cancer Hospital/Henan Cancer Hospital team published new results in "Oncogene"

In the antitumor immune response, T cells play an important role, but the role of B cells has been controversial

The article titled "Role of fibrosarcoma-induced CD11b ⁺ myeloid cells and tumor necrosis factor-α in B cell responses" was published in the internationally renowned journal "Oncogene" in March 2022

Research Background

The role of B cells in the antitumor immune response has been controversial

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous cell population differentiated primarily from immature myeloid cells that accumulate under pathological conditions such as tumors and inflammation, and are phenotypically characterized by CD11b ⁺ Gr-1 ⁺ cells

In this study, the researchers used a mouse model of fibrosarcoma to study the effect of CD11b ⁺ cells on B cells

Peripheral B cell abundance is associated with immunotherapy efficacy

The researchers first employed bioinformatic analysis to explore the relationship between B cell abundance and prognosis in sarcoma patients

CD11b ⁺ cells promote B cell activation and proliferation

The researchers then analyzed the effect of CD11b ⁺ cells isolated from the spleen of tumor-bearing and control mice on B cell activation and proliferation

So, how do CD11b ⁺ cells interact with B cells? By culturing the Transwell system, they found that there was no increase in B cell activation after LPS stimulation if there was no contact between the two cells

CD11b+ cells promote antibody formation in tumor-bearing mice

To functionally assess antibody formation in tumor-bearing mice, the researchers vaccinated the mice with an unrelated xenogene

Next, the researchers used adoptive lymphocyte transfer to assess the effect of CD11b ⁺ cells on antibody formation

Overall, the researchers demonstrated through a series of experiments in vivo and in vitro that enhanced humoral immune responses are associated with CD11b ⁺ cell populations in tumor-bearing hosts

Original text retrieval

Wang, Z.