Impact of Chemotherapeutic Agents on PD-L1, CTLA-4, and VISTA Gene Expression in Cervical Cancer Cell Lines: An In Vitro Study

The study aims to understand how docetaxel and doxorubicin, two commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs, influence the expression of PD-L1, CTLA-4, and VISTA in cervical cancer cells.

In this study, the CaSki cell line was cultured using standard cell culture techniques. The MTT test was employed to ascertain the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) and potency of chemotherapeutic agents: docetaxel and doxorubicin. We used qRT-PCR to investigate the expression of PD-L1, CTLA-4, and VISTA genes in the CaSki cell line after treatment.

Doxorubicin significantly increased the expression of PD-L1 (P-value < 0.05) and CTLA-4 (P-value < 0.001) and decreased the expression of VISTA (P-value < 0.01) in the CaSki cell line, but docetaxel increased the expression of PD-L1 (P-value < 0.001), CTLA-4 (P-value < 0.001), and VISTA (P-value < 0.05).

Doxorubicin increased the expression of PD-L1 and CTLA-4, possibly creating an immunosuppressive cervical tumor environment. Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with doxorubicin may counteract this effect. Docetaxel increased all three genes, indicating complex immune checkpoint regulation during chemotherapy. Further research is required to understand mechanisms and optimize combination therapies for enhanced cancer treatment.