Novel techniques in gynecological oncological diagnostics and experimental design
Lakatos Kornél Fülöp
Molecular Medicine
Dr. Enyedi Péter
NET -1. sz. szemináriumi terem
2023-08-28 09:00:00
Immunology
Dr. Poór Gyula
Dr. Fülöp Vilmos
Dr. Czegle Ibolya
Dr. Szepesi János
Dr. Pajor Attila
Dr. Végh Judit
Dr. Valent Sándor
In my thesis I tried to reveal many aspects of the physiology and immunology of the fetal- maternal interface. Understanding the biology of the trophoblastic invasion may help us to comprehend the mechanisms how tumor tissue evades the immune surveillance. Isolation and analysis of the decidual NK cells has been the goal of many scientific projects in the past decades however the use of freshly isolated dNK in functional studies is still an un-common experimental set-up.
A new protocol was introduced for the isolation and culturing of dNK cells from fresh, term placentas and complete hydatidiform moles. The dNK cells became subsequently expanded in cell culture. Flow cytometry and functional assays were used to reassess their surface markers and cytotoxicity. The protocol yields high quantities of enriched dNK cells which can be sustained in cell culture for at least a month, while their phenotype and functionality are preserved for a week, thus providing a valuable tool for immunological and gynecologic- oncological studies.
In the second part of my thesis, we created a novel experimental set-up for modelling the immunological interaction between dNK cells and different trophoblastic cell lines. 5 days of exposure changed the phenotype of the dNK population exposed to Jeg-3 to be similar to the peripheral NK cell phenotype. We also found decreased cytotoxicity of NK cells co-cultured with malignant cells compared to the NK population exposed to benign trophoblastic cells and the controls. Understanding the ways of interaction between dNK cells and the trophoblastic cells may reveal similar immunological interactions between the host’s NK cells and tumor cells.
My third project presents a different aspect of gynecologic- oncology, focusing on novel diagnostics of ovarian cancer. We tested this newly developed microscope system’s research value applying specimens collected serially from a female patient who was currently undergoing therapy for high grade serous EOC. It is possible to assess MUC16-binding among cryopreserved PBMC cell types by means of darkfield and fluorescence microscopy. Correlations observable between the level of binding by cell type with serum CA125, CBC data, and treatment details indicate that these novel techniques can provide fresh insights into the clinical course of EOC.
