%0 Generic %A Y.W., Gao %A Y.X., Chen %A Z.M., Wang %A J., Jin %A X.Y., Li %A L.D., Zhou %A Z., Huo %A J.H., Zhou %A W., Chen %D 2009 %T Supplementary Material for: Increased Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 and Increased Infiltration of Regulatory T Cells in Tumors of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma %U https://karger.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_Material_for_Increased_Expression_of_Cyclooxygenase-2_and_Increased_Infiltration_of_Regulatory_T_Cells_in_Tumors_of_Patients_with_Hepatocellular_Carcinoma/5120659 %R 10.6084/m9.figshare.5120659.v1 %2 https://karger.figshare.com/ndownloader/files/8704957 %K Hepatocellular carcinoma %K Foxp3+ regulatory T cell %K Cox-2 %K CD4+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte %X Background: Studies on Cox-2 and Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) showed that Treg suppress local immune response in a Cox-2-dependent fashion. Aims: To investigate Cox-2 expression, Foxp3+ Treg infiltration and CD4+ T cell frequency in HCC tumors. Methods: Tumors and the corresponding nontumor hepatitis B virus-related liver tissues from 40 HCC patients with hepatitis B virus infection, plus 10 liver samples from patients with hemangioma as controls, were assessed for Cox-2 expression, Foxp3+ Treg and total CD4+ T cell numbers using immunohistochemistry. Serum TGF-β1 was assessed by ELISA. Results: Reduced Cox-2 expression, increased Treg and increased CD4+ T cells were shown in tumor as compared with nontumor tissues. Moreover, of 40 tumor tissues, 23 that expressed Cox-2 showed increased Foxp3+ Treg and reduced CD4+ T cells compared with the remaining 17 that did not express Cox-2. Correlation analyses showed that within tumors Treg infiltration correlated positively with Cox-2 expression, and that Treg infiltration or Cox-2 expression correlated negatively with CD4+ T cells. Additionally, serum TGF-β1 was higher in HCC patients than in controls. Conclusion: Within tumors, Cox-2 expression, Treg infiltration and CD4+ T cell frequency were increased, and the Cox-2 expression correlated positively with Treg infiltration and negatively with CD4+ T cell frequency. %I Karger Publishers