LncRNA XLOC_003810 promotes T cell activation and inhibits PD‐1/PD‐L1 expression in patients with myasthenia gravis‐related thymoma
Bo Hu, Li Niu, Zheng Jiang, Shenglin Xu, Yong Hu, Kun Cao
Abstract
Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effect of long non‐coding RNA XLOC_003810 on the activation of CD4 + T cells and expression of PD‐1/PD‐L1 in patients with myasthenia gravis‐related thymoma (MG‐T). Thymus specimens and thymic mononuclear cells were obtained from MG and MG‐T patients or cardiac surgery patients undergoing thoracotomy who were selected as negative controls (NC). XLOC_003810 expression was examined using quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR). Frequency of CD4 + T cells and proportion of CD4 + PD‐1 + T cells and CD14 + PD‐L1 + monocytes were quantified by flow cytometry. The release of inflammatory cytokines was measured by qRT‐PCR and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Compared with the NC group, expression of XLOC_003810, frequency of CD4 + T cells and the production of inflammatory cytokines were increased in patients with MG and MG‐T. XLOC_003810 overexpression significantly increased the frequency of CD4 + T cells, facilitated the production of inflammatory cytokines and decreased the proportion of CD4 + PD‐1 + T cells and CD14 + PD‐L1 + monocytes in the thymic mononuclear cells. In contrast, XLOC_003810 knockdown exerted the opposite effect. Together, XLOC_003810 promotes T cell activation and inhibits PD‐1/PD‐L1 pathway in patients with MG‐T.