Increased expression of ST2 on regulatory T cells is associated with cancer associated fibroblast-derived IL-33 in laryngeal cancer

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)- 33 plays an essential role in regulatory T cell (Treg)-mediated immunosuppression in cancers and underlies the crosstalk between Tregs and the tumor microenvironment. However, the phenotypic characteristics of subset Tregs modulated by IL-33 and its association with the tumor microenvironment are not fully understood. This study aimed to examine the expression of ST2, the receptor of IL-33, on Tregs in tumors and to evaluate their association with cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and reciprocal influences on the prognosis of laryngeal cancer. Our results showed that increased numbers of Tregs were found in laryngeal tumor tissues. Tregs in stromal IL-33-positive tumor tissues demonstrated significantly higher expression of ST2 than those in IL-33^- or adjacent nontumor tissues. ST2-expressing Tregs exhibited upregulation of Ki67 and CTLA4 compared with their ST2^- negative counterparts. Furthermore, IL-33 in the tumor microenvironment was mainly derived from fibroblasts. ST2 expression on Tregs was correlated with the number of IL-33-positive CAFs. High ST2 expression on Tregs, combined high ST2 on Tregs and the presence of IL-33 expressing CAFs was associated with worse survival outcomes in laryngeal cancer. This study indicated that increased expression of ST2 on Tregs is associated with microenvironmental IL-33 signaling derived from CAFs in laryngeal cancer, unraveling the special role of Tregs and fibroblasts in modulating IL-33/ST2 involved immune-evasive tumor microenvironment.

Keywords: IL-33，Cancer associated fibroblasts; Laryngeal cancer; Regulatory T cells; ST2; Tumor microenvironment.