Abstract
Warthin tumour (WT) is a benign tumour of the salivary gland that proliferates in both glandular epithelial and lymphoid tissue components, and rarely exhibits cystic changes. T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are involved in the formation and maintenance of germinal centres, the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells, and the maintenance of helper T cell type 2 (Th2)-dominant humoral immune responses. T-bet induces differentiation into helper T cell type 1 (Th1) by suppressing differentiation into Tfh and enhances cellular immune responses. The objective of this study was to enhance our understanding of the immune responses and relationship between Tfh and Th1 cells in patients with WTs. In this study, we classified WTs (n = 64) into solid-type (n = 25) and cyst-type (n = 39). We also performed immunostaining of the Tfh markers CXCR5 and CD40 L, and the Th1 marker T-bet for statistical analysis. The cyst-type exhibited significant atrophy of the germinal centre area (P = 0.0019), significantly fewer Tfh-positive lymphocytes in germinal centres (P < 0.0001), and significantly more T-bet-positive lymphocytes in the epithelium (P = 0.0017). We observed that Tfh were involved in the formation and maintenance of lymphoid follicles in WTs. In the cyst-type, Th2-dominant humoral immune responses were suppressed, and Th1-dominant cellular immune responses may have caused damage to tumour tissue.