Sex-specific phenotypical and functional differences in peripheral human Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells
Abstract Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells constitute a minor proportion of human peripheral blood T cells that can expand rapidly upon infection with microbial pathogens. Vγ9/Vδ2 T cell numbers change characteristically with age, rising from birth to puberty and gradually decreasing again beyond 30 years of age. In adults, female blood donors have significantly higher levels than males, implying that circulating Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells in women remain elevated for a longer period in life and drop less strikingly than in men. This loss in men is accompanied by a substantial depletion of CD27−CD45RA− and CD27−CD45RA+ effector T cells and a parallel increase in CD27+CD45RA− central memory T cells while in women, the d…
Galectin-3 Released by Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Suppresses γδ T Cell Proliferation but Not Their Cytotoxicity
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment with a dense desmoplastic stroma. The expression of β-galactoside-binding protein galectin-3 is regarded as an intrinsic tumor escape mechanism for inhibition of tumor-infiltrating T cell function. In this study, we demonstrated that galectin-3 is expressed by PDAC and by γδ or αβ T cells but is only released in small amounts by either cell population. Interestingly, large amounts of galectin-3 were released during the co-culture of allogeneic in vitro expanded or allogeneic or autologous resting T cells with PDAC cells. By focusing on the co-culture of tumor cells and γδ T cells, we obse…