A bioinformatic analysis of the role of TP53 status on the infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells into the tumor microenvironment

CD8⁺ T cells play basic roles in the immune system in a tumor microenvironment (TME) to fight cancer. Several reports have suggested signs of the involvement of tumor protein p53 (TP53) in a complex immune system network. Moreover, our previous research indicated that TP53 orchestrates the polarization and infiltration of macrophages into the TME. In the present study, the clinical function of TP53 status (wild/mutant) in CD8⁺ T cell infiltration was assessed using more than 10,000 The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) samples from 30 cancer types through Tumor Immune Estimation (TIMER). Our investigation revealed that CD8⁺ T cell infiltration was higher in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) patients with wild-type TP53 than in those with mutant TP53. Wild-type TP53 conferred a good prognosis for HNSC and UCEC (P<0.05). In contrast, CD8⁺ T cell infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients with wild-type TP53 was much lower than in those with mutant TP53. Notably, clinical outcomes for LUAD with wild-type TP53 were poor (P<0.05). This study was the first to provide insights into the novel association of TP53 with CD8⁺ T cells infiltration in the TME in patients with HNSC, LUAD, and UCEC. Therefore, TP53 status acts as a prognostic marker, and this can be used as a basis to further study the effect of targeting TP53 in these patients. Furthermore, our study found that TP53 status was a reliable predictive factor and therapeutic target in patients with HNSC and UCEC.

CD8⁺ T cells; TP53 status; Infiltration; Head and neck cancer; Uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma; Lung adenocarcinoma