OBJECTIVETo study the effect of spleen lymphocytes on the splenomegaly by hepatocellular carcinoma-bearing mouse model.

METHODSCell counts, cell cycle distribution, the percentage of lymphocytes subsets and the levels of IL-2 were measured, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to investigate the relationship between spleen lymphocytes and splenomegaly in hepatocellular carcinoma-bearing mice.

RESULTSCompared with the normal group, the thymus was obviously atrophied and the spleen was significantly enlarged in the tumor-bearing group. Correlation study showed that the number of whole spleen cells was positively correlated with the splenic index. The cell diameter and cell-cycle phase distribution of splenocytes in the tumor-bearing group showed no significant difference compared to the normal group. The percentage of CD3+ T lymphocytes and CD8+ T lymphocytes in spleen and peripheral blood of tumor-bearing mice were substantially higher than that in the normal mice. Meanwhile, the IL-2 level was also higher in the tumor-bearing group than in the normal group. Furthermore, two dysregulated protein, β-actin and S100-A9 were identified in spleen lymphocytes from H22-bearing mice, which were closely related to cellular motility.

CONCLUSIONIt is suggested that dysregulated β-actin and S100-A9 can result in recirculating T lymphocytes trapped in the spleen, which may explain the underlying cause of splenomegaly in H22-bearing mice.