Scientists from several Chinese centers have determined that, compared with control subjects, patients with breast cancer exhibit higher circulating levels of the soluble form of PD-L2, correlating these with a higher expression of the proliferation marker Ki67 in the tumor. The findings have been recapitulated in the …
Scientists from various Chinese centers have determined that, compared to control individuals, Breast cancer patients exhibit higher circulating levels of the soluble form of PD-L2, correlating these with a higher expression of the proliferation marker Ki67 in the tumor. The findings were summarized in the analysis of over 400 resection samples, of which 79% were PD-L2+ and in which an additional correlation with HER2 and progesterone receptor levels was observed.
Xuqin Guo, researcher at Soochow University and co-author of the studystates that although PD-L2 expression in the tumor did not show any relationship with its size or grade, presence of the estrogen receptor or metastasis, or with the age or sex of the patient, it can be concluded that is associated with greater aggressivenessThis notion was confirmed in an animal model, where neutralizing PD-L2 expression using a nucleic acid reduced the rate of tumor growth. Using a similar method in vitro, the scientists established that PD-L2 also plays an important role in tumor cell migration and invasion, processes that could be inhibited by blocking PD-L2.
Guo points out that The role of PD-L2 in cancer is a matter of debate, because it can promote or inhibit immunityaccording to data from multiple studies. The current results would support the development of immunotherapies targeting PD-L2 in breast cancer, a type of tumor that responds poorly to conventional immunotherapy, concludes the researcher.
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