HIV status alters immune cell infiltration and activation profile in women with breast cancer
The breast cancer (BC)-related mortality is higher and the immunity is altered in women living with HIV (WLWH) compared to HIV-negative women. Therefore, tumor samples of 296 black BC patients from South Africa and Namibia with known age, HIV status, tumor stage, hormone receptor and HER2 status and overall survival (OS) are analyzed for components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). WLWH (n = 117), either with suppressed viral activity (HR = 1.25) or with immune suppression (HR = 2.04), have a shorter OS. HIV status is associated with increased numbers of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells in the TME compared to HIV-negative patients; no correlation is found with CD4<sup>+</sup> T cell numbers in the blood. Moreover, an increased expression of CD276/B7-H3 and a more pronounced IFN-γ signaling in the tumors are found in WLWH, independent of age, stage, and BC subtypes. In conclusion, altered T cell composition and CD276 expression in WLWH may contribute to inferior survival and can be used for targeted treatment.
Authors
- Isabel dos‐Santos‐Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6596-8798)
- Martina Vetter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6642-9585)
- Claudia Wickenhauser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1807-5575)
- Eunice J. van den Berg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8834-6529)
- Barbara Seliger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5544-4958)
- Wenlong Carl Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3248-4906)
- Annelle Zietsman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5103-1489)
- Sandy Kaufhold
- Pablo Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3008-014X)
- Marcus Bauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0657-6831)
- Valerie McCormack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7397-3442)
- Nivashini Murugan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1980-1805)
- Eva Johanna Kantelhardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7935-719X)
- Herbert Cubasch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6110-3984)
- Maureen Joffe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8616-9672)
- Andreas Wilfer
Institutions
- National Health Laboratory Service (ZA)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- National Art Gallery of Namibia (NA)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (DE)
- University Hospital in Halle (DE)
- Universitätsklinikum Brandenburg an der Havel (DE)
- Centre international de recherche sur le cancer (FR)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59408-8
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Viral-associated cancers and disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.09
Funders
- World Health Organization
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Deutsche Krebshilfe
- National Cancer Institute