Critical stoichiometric ratio of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells and CD4+CD25- responder T cells influence immunosuppression in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Regulatory T (Treg) cells act to suppress activation of the immune system and thereby maintain immunological homeostasis and tolerance to self-antigens. The frequency and suppressing activity of Treg cells in general are high in different malignancies. We wanted to identify the role and regulation of CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) Treg cells in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL). We have included patients at diagnosis (n=54), patients in clinical remission (n=32) and normal healthy individuals (n=35). These diagnosed patients demonstrated a lower number of CD4(+)CD25(+) cells co-expressing a higher level of FoxP3, interleukin-10, transforming growth factor-beta and CD152/CTLA-4 than the normal population. Treg cells from patients showed a higher suppressive capability on CD4(+)CD25(-) responder T (Tresp) cells than normal. The frequency and immunosuppressive potential of CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) Treg cells became high with the progression of malignancy in B-ALL. Relative distribution of Tresp and Treg cells was only ~5:1 in B-ALL but ~35:1 in normal healthy individuals, further confirming the elevated immunosuppression in patients. A co-culture study at these definite ex vivo ratios, indicated that Treg cells from B-ALL patients exhibited higher immunosuppression than Treg cells from normal healthy individuals. After chemotherapy using the MCP841 protocol, the frequency of CD4(+)CD25(+) cells was gradually enhanced with the reduction of FoxP3, interleukin-10 positivity corresponded with disease presentation, indicating reduced immunosuppression. Taken together, our study indicated that the CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) Treg cells played an important role in immunosuppression, resulting in a positive disease-correlation in these patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report on the frequency, regulation and functionality of Treg cells in B-ALL.