Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells that play a critical immunosuppressive role in the tumour micro-environment. Although biological research on MDSCs has made progress, the relationship between the secretion of cytokines by MDSCs and poor prognosis is not clear, and there are no criteria to measure the functional status of MDSCs. Here, we detected the mRNA expression of IL-10, IL-12, TGF-β and TNF-α in MDSCs and the levels of these cytokines in MDSC culture supernatants of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, and quantified the functional status of MDSCs by IL-10/IL-12 ratio and TGF-β/TNF-α ratio. We found that the ratio of IL-10/IL-12 and TGF-β/TNF-α was significantly higher in higher-risk MDS than in lower-risk MDS and normal control groups. The TGF-β/TNF-α ratio in MDSCs was positively correlated with the percentage of blast cells and was negatively correlated with the percentage of CD3⁺CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. Meanwhile, the TGF-β/TNF-α ratio was higher in patients with a lower absolute neutrophil count. It suggested that MDSCs in higher-risk MDS have a stronger immunosuppressive effect and might be related to poor prognosis. Quantifying the functional status of MDSCs with IL-10/IL-12 and TGF-β/TNF-α ratio might help to evaluate the balance of cellular immunity of MDSCs in MDS.

髓源性抑制细胞 (MDSCs) 是未成熟髓细胞的异质群体，在肿瘤微环境中发挥关键的免疫抑制作用。尽管对MDSCs的生物学研究取得了进展，但MDSCs分泌细胞因子与预后不良之间的关系尚不清楚，也没有衡量MDSCs功能状态的标准。在这里，我们检测了骨髓增生异常综合征患者 MDSCs 中 IL-10、IL-12、TGF-β 和 TNF-α 的 mRNA 表达以及这些细胞因子在 MDSC 培养上清液中的水平，并通过 IL 量化了 MDSCs 的功能状态。 -10/IL-12 比率和 TGF-β/TNF-α 比率。我们发现高危 MDS 中 IL-10/IL-12 和 TGF-β/TNF-α 的比率显着高于低危 MDS 和正常对照组。⁺ CD8 ⁺ T 淋巴细胞。同时，中性粒细胞绝对计数较低的患者的 TGF-β/TNF-α 比率较高。提示高危MDS中的MDSCs具有更强的免疫抑制作用，可能与预后不良有关。用 IL-10/IL-12 和 TGF-β/TNF-α 比率量化 MDSCs 的功能状态可能有助于评估 MDS 中 MDSCs 的细胞免疫平衡。