Capacity of purified unprimed Lyt-2+ cells to reject Ia- H-2-different tumor cells in the Winn assay.
To examine which cells participate in primary anti-H-2 responses to Ia- tumors in vivo, irradiated mice were injected intracutaneously with small doses of tumor cells mixed with purified populations of host-type lymphoid cells. Studies with three different Ia- H-2-different tumors showed that purified unprimed Lyt-2+ cells were highly efficient at suppressing tumor growth. Lyt-2+ cells were appreciably more effective at suppressing tumor growth than unseparated T cells, and no protection was seen with injection of L3T4+ cells (except in the late states of tumor growth). It is suggested that class I alloantigens on the tumors are directly immunogenic for Lyt-2+ cells. Without need for help from L3T4+ cells, the responding Lyt-2+ cells rapidly differentiate into cytotoxic cells and destroy the tumor cells before macroscopic tumors can arise.