Dynamic changes in B cell subpopulations in response to triple-negative breast cancer development.

Despite presenting a worse prognosis and being associated with highly aggressive tumors, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the higher frequency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which have been implicated in better overall survival and response to therapy. Though recent studies have reported the capacity of B lymphocytes to recognize overly-expressed normal proteins, and tumor-associated antigens, how tumor development potentially modifies B cell response is yet to be elucidated. Our findings reveal distinct effects of 4T1 and E0771 murine tumor development on B cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Notably, we observe a significant expansion of total B cells and plasma cells in the tumor-draining lymph nodes (tDLNs) as early as 7 days after tumor challenge in both murine models, whereas changes in the spleen are less pronounced. Surprisingly, within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of both models, we detect distinct B cell subpopulations, but tumor development does not appear to cause major alterations in their frequency over time. Furthermore, our investigation into B cell regulatory phenotypes highlights that the B10 Breg phenotype remains unaffected in the evaluated tissues. Most importantly, we identified an increase in CD19 + LAG-3 + cells in tDLNs of both murine models. Interestingly, although CD19 + LAG-3 + cells represent a minor subset of total B cells (< 3%) in all evaluated tissues, most of these cells exhibit elevated expression of IgD, suggesting that LAG-3 may serve as an activation marker for B cells. Corroborating with these findings, we detected distinct cell cycle and proliferation genes alongside LAG-3 analyzing scRNA-Seq data from a cohort of TNBC patients. More importantly, our study suggests that the presence of LAG-3 B cells in breast tumors could be associated with a good prognosis, as patients with higher levels of LAG-3 B cell transcripts had a longer progression-free interval (PFI). This novel insight could pave the way for targeted therapies that harness the unique properties of LAG-3 + B cells, potentially offering new avenues for improving patient outcomes in TNBC. Further research is warranted to unravel the mechanistic pathways of these cells and to validate their prognostic value in larger, diverse patient cohorts.

A integração ensino-serviço contribui para a promoção de modos saudáveis de vida na atenção primária a saúde? / Does the integration education-service contributes to promote healthy way of life in primary health?

Objetiva-se descrever como a integração ensino-serviço pode contribuir para a promoção de modos saudáveis de vida na Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) no âmbito do Programa de Educação para o Trabalho pela Saúde, em uma Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS). Trata-se de um relato de experiência pautado em estudo longitudinal descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado com usuários da UBS, efetivado em três etapas: sensibilização, incentivo à participação em grupos operativos e oficina culinária. A sensibilização possibilitou aos acadêmicos um contato direto com a comunidade, proporcionando aproximação entre população-acadêmicos-profissionais do local. Nas demais etapas, verificou-se interesse dos participantes, com relatos sobre os benefícios das atividades desenvolvidas. Concluiu-se que as ações realizadas oportunizaram a integração ensino-serviço e favoreceram a promoção de modos saudáveis de vida entre os usuários da APS

This study aimed to describe how the teaching-service integration can contribute to the promotion of healthy ways of life in Primary Health Care (PHC) in the of Educational Working Program for Health in a Basic Health Unit (BHU). This is an experience report guided longitudinal study with qualitative approach conducted with users of BHU, effected in three stages: awareness, encourage participation in operative groups and culinary workshop. The awareness allowed academics to a direct contact with the community, providing a closer approach between the academics, the professionals and the community of the place. During other stages there was interest from participants, with the reports on the benefits of the activities, that the participants showed interest. It was concluded that the actions taken optimized teaching-service integration and favored the promotion of healthy ways of life among users of the PHC.