Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34026621›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2021

IL-21 Is an Accomplice of PD-L1 in the Induction of PD-1-Dependent Treg Generation in Head and Neck Cancer.

Yi Zhao, Zhiyu Zhang, Wenbin Lei, Yi Wei, Renqiang Ma, Yihui Wen, Fanqin Wei, Jun Fan, Yang Xu, Lin Chen and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Implications of IL-21 in solid tumor therapy.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2023
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Yi ZhaoDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhiyu ZhangDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Wenbin LeiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yi WeiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Renqiang MaDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yihui WenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Fanqin WeiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Jun FanDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Yang XuDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Lin ChenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Kexing LyuDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Hanqing LinDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Weiping WenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Wei SunDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University · CNSun Yat-sen University · CNJinan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are immunosuppressive cells involved in antitumor immunity. However, the regulation of Treg generation by inflammation in the tumor microenvironment has not been carefully investigated. Here, we demonstrated that IL-21-polarized inflammation was enriched in the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and that IL-21 could promote PD-L1-induced Treg generation in a PD-1-dependent manner. Moreover, generated Tregs showed a greater ability to suppress the proliferation of tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific T cells than naturally occurring Tregs. Importantly, an anti-PD-1 antibody could inhibit only Treg expansion induced by clinical tumor explants with high expression of IL-21/PD-L1. In addition, neutralizing IL-21 could enhance the anti-PD-1 antibody-mediated inhibitory effect on Treg expansion. Furthermore, simultaneous high expression of IL-21 and PD-L1 was associated with more Treg infiltrates and predicted reduced overall and disease-free survival in patients with HNSCC. These findings indicate that IL-21 in the tumor microenvironment may promote PD-L1-induced, Treg-mediated immune escape in a PD-1-dependent manner and that an IL-21 neutralization strategy may enhance PD-1 blockade-based antitumor immunotherapy by targeting Treg-mediated immune evasion in patients with high expression of IL-21 and PD-L1.

Indexed as

head and neck squamous cell carcinomainterleukin-21programmed death-ligand 1regulatory T cellstumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID34026621
PMCPMC8131831
OpenAlexW3158957927

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.