The Down-Regulation of Treg Expression by CD18–/– to Inhibit Kidney Cancer Pathogenesis

Abstract

Objective: Gene mutation is closely related to the occurrence of renal cell carcinoma. Regulatory T cells play an important role in cancer. Our study aimed to investigate how CD18 affects tumor cells in renal cell carcinoma. Methods: 30 models of mice with renal cell carcinoma were established by gene engineering mouse with CD18 deficient, another 30 normal C57 mice were used as control. Ki67 and microvessel density were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence respectively to assess whether the model was established successfully. The expression of CD3, CD4 and CD8 were detected in blood and spleen by qRT-PCR. Flow cytometry was used to detect the changes of Treg cells. Results: After successful modeling, the expression of Ki67 in C57 was significantly higher than that in experimental group. IHC results showed that CD31 was also down-regulated in CD18–/– mice. In addition, it was found that expression of CD4 was higher in the mesenteric lymph nodes of CD18–/– as non tumor-bearing. However, Treg cells were significantly decreased in CD18–/– mice. Conclusion: CD18–/– downregulates Treg cells and then inhibits the pathogenesis of renal cell carcinoma.