Effect of surgery on peripheral blood lymphocyte locomotion through type I collagen.

Background: Locomotion of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) through peritumoral matrix is obligatory for tumor cell killing. The authors investigated the effect of surgery on lymphocyte locomotion and compared it with the effect on natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC).

Methods: PBL from 12 patients with cancer were assessed for locomotion in Type I rat-tail collagen. Preoperative and postoperative locomotion (after 20 hours of incubation) and NKCC were estimated.

Results: Locomotion of lymphocytes through collagen increased significantly after operation in 6 of 12 patients, whereas only 1 of 12 had a decrease (P < 0.001). Short-term (20-hour incubation) exposure of the locomotory HSB cell line to patient plasma samples did not affect their migration. NKCC, as estimated against K562 target cells with the use of the 51Cr-release assay, decreased 5-50% after operation in 9 of 12 patients (P = 0.006). No correlation could be demonstrated between the changes in locomotion and NKCC (regression analyses), nor were identifiable clinical factors associated with these changes.

Conclusions: Locomotion of PBL through collagen increases after operation in patients with cancer, whereas possibly independent factors may decrease postoperative NKCC.