Year: 2015
Type: letter
Abstract: The recent article by Mrizak and colleagues (1) reported that exosomes derived from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines or isolated from plasma of patients with NPC mediated intratumoral recruitment of human regulatory T-cells (Treg) to the tumor site in vivo in a xenograft SCID mouse model and in vitro using Boyden chamber assays. The authors also showed that NPC-EXO recruited conventional CD4+CD25neg T-cells and induced their conversion to functionally active, suppressive CD4+CD25hi cells. Further NPC-EXO were shown to enhance in vitro expansion of human Treg. These studies were competently performed and are convincingly described. The authors concluded that, “interactions between NPC exosomes and Treg represent a newly defined mechanism that may be involved in regulating peripheral tolerance by tumors.” The effects tumor-derived exosomes exert on immune cells have been the subject of considerable previous studies reported by our group (2–4). Specifically, the ability of tumor-derived exosomes to influence the development and functions of human regulatory T-cells (Treg) has been previously investigated and reported by my laboratory (5,6). The first published reports on this subject date back to 2009 and 2010 (5,6). Later, these reports were followed by a review (7). The findings presented in this article as a novel mechanism of tumor-induced tolerance are, in fact, not new. The authors of the JNCI paper extend the already reported phenomenon of exosome-driven suppression to NPC-derived exosomes, and they do so well. Nevertheless, there remains a problem of a claim for novelty, which is not accurate as the data are confirmatory. The authors’ failure to acknowledge and credit the relevant results previously published in peer-reviewed journals cannot be considered an oversight. It could be argued that in the rapidly progressing field of exosome biology discoveries are likely to overlap and similar mechanisms might be found to operate by more than one laboratory. While this is highly probable and confirmations of previously reported mechanisms are useful—even important—in establishing scientific principles, there are rules for dealing with such cases. It only requires accurate reference to the original report(s) and the acknowledgement of previously published work. Unless this is done, the authors stand accused of neglect in perusing the literature or willful suppression of already published results to bolster their own claim for novelty. In either case, the authors’ credibility suffers and the image of the JNCI is tarnished. The purpose of this letter is to call attention of the scientific community to the increasingly overused practice of claiming novelty and originality for work that lacks both. Ignorance cannot be an excuse, and willful suppression of existing evidence is wrong. The authors of this article on NPC-derived exosomes need to be made aware that their scientific credentials are diminished by claims that are not true. The JNCI Editors who neglected to ascertain accuracy of the authors’ claim need to be reminded of the responsibility they have to the readership for maintaining high-quality scientific standards.
DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djv276
Author: Theresa L. Whiteside
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W3145880319