CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ Lymphocyte Subgroups and their Surface Receptors NKG2D and NKG2A in Patients with Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer

Background: To explore the prevalence of lymphocyte subgroups CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ and their surfacereceptors NKG2D and NKG2A in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and
Methods: Atotal of 40 patients with NSCLC were divided into different groups according to different clinical factors (TNMstaging, pathological patterns and genders) for assessment of relations with CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ and thesurface receptors NKG2D and NKG2A of T lymphocytes in peripheral blood by flow cytometry.
Results: Patientsin the advanced group had evidently lower levels of CD3+ CD4+ but markedly higher levels of CD3+ CD8+ inperipheral blood than those with early lesions (p<0.05). In addition, NSCLC patients in the advanced group hadobviously higher CD3+ CD4+ NKG2D and CD3+ CD8+ NKG2A expression rates but lower CD3+ CD4+ NKG2A andCD3+ CD8+ NKG2D expression rates (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between NSCLCpatients with different genders and pathological patterns in expression levels of lymphocyte subgroups CD3+CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ and their surface receptors NKG2D and NKG2A.
Conclusions: Unbalanced expressionof surface receptors NKG2D and NKG2A in CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ lymphocytes may be associated witha poor prognosis, greater malignancy and immunological evasion by advanced cancers, related to progressionof lung cancer.