Tumour-activated neutrophils in gastric cancer foster immune suppression and disease progression through GM-CSF-PD-L1 pathway

Objective Neutrophils are prominent components of solid tumours and exhibit distinct phenotypes in different tumour microenvironments. However, the nature, regulation, function and clinical relevance of neutrophils in human gastric cancer (GC) are presently unknown. Design Flow cytometry analyses were performed to examine levels and phenotype of neutrophils in samples from 105 patients with GC. Kaplan-Meier plots for overall survival were performed using the log-rank test. Neutrophils and T cells were isolated, stimulated and/or cultured for in vitro and in vivo regulation and function assays. Results Patients with GC showed a significantly higher neutrophil infiltration in tumours. These tumour-infiltrating…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 81372560, 2016YFC1302200, 81402355
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2016YFC1302200