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Anti-tumor effects and tumor immunogenicity following IL2 or IL4 cytokine gene transfection of three mouse mammary tumors.

BACKGROUND: The anti-tumor effects of three mouse mammary tumors transfected to express interleukin (IL) 2 or 4 were evaluated. METHODS: Three immunologically different tumors were used: DA3, EMT6, and 410. All three cell lines were successfully transfected using high efficiency viral vectors. Wild-type or transfected tumor cells were injected subcutaneously into Balb/c mice and animals were observed for tumor growth. RESULTS: Overall, there was a significant decrease in the incidence and in the size of palpable transfected tumor compared with control tumors. Animals were immunized with wild-type or transfected cells and challenged with wild-type tumor. In these experiments, animals immunized with transfected tumor cells had a significantly lower incidence of tumor and significantly smaller tumors than controls. Similar experiments were performed by immunization with irradiated cells (wild type and transfected), and significant immune protection was induced. CONCLUSIONS: Each cell line responded differently following gene transfection, with the greatest anti-tumor effects seen in the EMT6 tumor cells transfected with IL2 or IL4.

Animals↗

Anti-tumor effect of tumor necrosis factor and its induction of tumor variant of MBT-2 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

The effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a potential anti-tumor agent, was assessed both in vivo and in vitro against MBT-2 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in C3H/HeHa mice. Systemic administration of either single or multiple doses of TNF into tumor bearing animals resulted in partial tumor regression and had a consistent but transient anti-tumor effect. Compared to control, untreated tumor bearing animals, TNF-treated tumor bearing mice had significantly smaller tumor volumes and slower tumor growth rates over the period of 12 days following TNF inoculation. No significant difference in tumor volumes and tumor growth rates between controls and TNF-inoculated mice was observed from day 12 to day 21 after TNF treatment. Assessment of TNF cytotoxicity against in vitro MBT-2 cell line using 3[H]-thymidine proliferation assay showed significant sensitivity of MBT-2 cells to treatment with TNF. A "Variant" MBT-2 cell line was derived by sequential culturing of the original MBT-2 cells in the presence of progressively higher concentrations of TNF in culture medium. Although the significant growth suppression on the MBT-2 tumor appears to be transient, further studies are warranted which may elucidate the immunologic and biologic behavior of TNF and this transplantable animal tumor.

Animals↗

Mouse mammary tumor virus genome expression in chemical carcinogen-induced mammary tumors in low- and high-tumor-incidence mouse strains.

Involvement of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumorigenesis was investigated in low- (BALB/c) and high- (BALB/cfC3H) mammary-tumor-incidence mouse strains. Both strains contain endogenous MMTV integrated into the cellular genome. Additionally, BALB/cfC3H mice are infected with exogenous MMTV-S which is responsible for a higher incidence of mammary tumors in breeding females. Administration of DMBA to virgin mice of both strains resulted in a moderate frequency of mammary tumors within 40 wk after treatment. No differences were found in DMBA-induced tumor incidences at 18 wk (6% and 7%) or at 38 wk (29% and 36%) after treatment of BALB/c and BALB/cfC3H mice, respectively. Expression of MMTV in these tumors was examined by assaying for the presence of MMTV RNA by hybridization using MMTV-specific cDNA and by immunohistochemical staining utilizing antibodies against MMTV 52,000-dalton glycoprotein, gp52, and 28,000-dalton internal protein, p28. Of 16 BALB/c tumors assayed, 11 did not contain detectable levels of MMTV RNA and the remaining 5 tumors contained only low levels (0.0005-0.0010%) of viral RNA. Importantly, MMTV RNA was not detected in 5 of 27 BALB/cfC3H tumors. The other BALB/cfC3H tumors contained quantities of MMTV RNA ranging from 0.0006 to 0.4170%. Most BALB/cfC3H tumors with detectable levels of MMTV RNA also synthesized viral proteins gp52 and p28. Thus, expression of the complete MMTV genome is not requisite for maintenance of the tumor phenotype in DMBA-induced mammary tumors in either BALB/c or BALB/cfC3H virgin mice under 1 year of age.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

Administration of multiple cytokine genes with anti-tumor activity inhibits both tumor incidence and tumor growth.

The finding of reporter gene expression in muscle cells after intramuscular injection of a reporter gene containing DNA has suggested that injection of a certain gene in its naked form could induce an expression of the injected gene. The result proposed the concept, namely DNA or genetic vaccine technology, that injection of an antigen gene could induce a specific immune response against the antigen. Although the concept was initially applied to vaccination technology, the result also means that administration of cytokine genes with anti-tumor activity could exert their functions when they are applied as a naked form of DNA. To test the possibility, plasmid vector containing granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulation factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) genes, which are known as one of the most potent anti-tumor cytokines, were constructed and injected into mice together with syngeneic tumor cells. When the cytokine gene containing plasmid was injected on the same day of tumor cell injection, a tumor mass developed in 4 out of 5 mice tested. Even among the 4 mice, the tumor mass of a mouse disappeared 2 weeks after tumor development. In addition, tumor generation was significantly delayed in cytokine gene injected mice and the average tumor size was about 51.5% that of vector control injected mice. These results suggested that tumor treatment through the injection of multiple cytokine genes with potent anti-tumor activity significantly inhibits tumor development and growth, and that the method could be considered as one of the tools for efficient tumor treatment.

Animals↗

Forcing tumor cells to present their own tumor antigens to the immune system: a necessary design for an efficient tumor immunotherapy.

The general principle for tumor cells to escape from immune surveillance is to prevent tumor antigens from being recognized by the immune system. Many methods have been developed to increase the immunogenecity of the tumor cells. The most efficient methods are able to force tumor cells to present their own tumor antigens to the immune system. Stimulating Th cells by converting tumor cells into MHC class II+/Ii- antigen presenting cells is one of the most efficient technologies. Using antisense methods, we suppress the expression of the Ii protein that normally co-expresses with MHC class II molecules and blocks the antigenic peptide binding site of MHC class II molecules during synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. In such tumor cells, the "unprotected" MHC class II molecules pick up endogenous tumor antigenic peptides, which have been transported into the ER for binding to MHC class I molecules. Simultaneous presentation of tumor antigens by both MHC class I and II molecules generates a robust and long-lasting anti-tumor immune response. MHC class II+/Ii- tumor cells are potent tumor cell vaccines and also cure a significant number of animals with renal and prostate tumors. We have developed analogous human gene vectors that are suitable for most patients and cancers.

Animals↗

Tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced leukocyte adhesion in normal and tumor vessels: effect of tumor type, transplantation site, and host strain.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) can lead to tumor regression when injected locally or when used in an isolated limb perfusion, and it can enhance the tumoricidal effect of various therapies. TNF-alpha can also up-regulate adhesion molecules, and thus, facilitate the binding of leukocytes to normal vessels. The present study was designed to investigate the extent to which the host leukocytes roll and adhere to vessels of different tumors (MCaIV, a murine mammary adenocarcinoma; HGL21, a human malignant astrocytoma) at a given site or to the same tumor at different sites (dorsal skin and cranium), in different mouse strains [C3H and severe combined immunodeficient (SCID)], both with and without TNF-alpha-activation. There was no significant difference in hemodynamic parameters such as RBC velocity, diameter, or shear rate between PBS-treated control groups and corresponding TNF-alpha-treated groups. Under PBS control conditions, the leukocyte rolling count in MCaIV tumor vessels in the dorsal chamber in C3H and SCID mice and in the cranial window in C3H mice was significantly lower than that in normal vessels (P < 0.05), but stable cell adhesion was similar between normal and tumor vessels. TNF-alpha led to an increase (P < 0.05) in leukocyte-endothelial interaction in vessels in the following cases: normal tissue regardless of sites and strains, MCaIV tumor in the cranial window in C3H mice, and HGL21 tumor in the cranial window in SCID mice. However, the increase in rolling and adhesion in the MCaIV tumor in response to TNF-alpha was significantly lower than in the corresponding normal vessels (P < 0.05) in the dorsal chamber in C3H and SCID mice and in the cranial window in C3H mice. The HGL21 tumor in the cranial window in SCID mice showed leukocyte rolling and adhesion comparable to that in normal pial vessels. These findings suggest that (a) in general, basal leukocyte rolling is lower in tumor vessels than in normal vessels; (b) leukocyte rolling and adhesion in tumors can be enhanced by TNF-alpha-mediated activation; and (c) the TNF-alpha response is dependent on tumor type, transplantation site, and host strain. These results have significant implications in the gene therapy of cancer using TNF-alpha-gene-transfected cancer cells or lymphocytes.

Animals↗

Treating tumor-bearing mice with vitamin D3 diminishes tumor-induced myelopoiesis and associated immunosuppression, and reduces tumor metastasis and recurrence.

Metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC-LN7) tumors that secrete granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulate myelopoiesis and induce bone marrow-derived immunosuppressor cells that are homologous to granulocyte/macrophage progenitor cells. In vitro treatment of the LLC-LN7 cells with 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 reduced tumor cell production of suppressor-inducing activity, although suppressor-inducing activity could be restored by reconstituting the tumor supernatants with recombinant GM-CSF. Treatment of mice having LLC-LN7 tumors with vitamin D3 reduced tumor production of GM-CSF and the frequency of myeloid progenitor cells. This was associated with a reduction in immunosuppressor activity and an increase in T cell function. Vitamin D3 treatment of mice having palpable tumors transiently retarded tumor growth, but caused a prominent reduction in tumor metastasis. Treating mice with vitamin D3 after tumor excision resulted in a reduction in the tumor-induced myelopoietic stimulation and associated immunosuppressive activity, and enhanced T cell function. These mice had a markedly reduced incidence of tumor recurrence. The results of this study suggest that vitamin D3 treatment of mice with GM-CSF-secreting tumors can interrupt the myelopoiesis-associated immunosuppressor cascade and, in turn, reduce tumor metastasis and recurrence.

Animals↗

CD4+ T cells are able to promote tumor growth through inhibition of tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in tumor-bearing hosts.

Modulation of the immune response by established tumors may contribute to the limited success of therapeutic vaccination for the treatment of cancer compared with vaccination in a preventive setting. We analyzed the contribution of the CD4+ T-cell population to the induction or suppression of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in a tumor model in which eradication of tumors crucially depends on CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity. Vaccine-mediated induction of protective antitumor immunity in the preventive setting (i.e., before tumor challenge) was CD4+ T cell dependent because depletion of this T-cell subset prevented CD8+ T-cell induction. In contrast, depletion of CD4+ cells in mice bearing established E1A+ tumors empowered the mice to raise strong CD8+ T-cell immunity capable of tumor eradication without the need for tumor-specific vaccination. Spontaneous eradication of tumors, which had initially grown out, was similarly observed in MHC class II-deficient mice, supporting the notion that the tumor-bearing mice harbor a class II MHC-restricted CD4+ T-cell subset capable of suppressing a tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell immune response. The deleterious effects of the presence of CD4+ T cells in tumor-bearing hosts could be overcome by CD40-triggering or injection of CpG. Together these results show that CD4+ T cells with a suppressive activity are rapidly induced following tumor development and that their suppressive effect can be overcome by agents that activate professional antigen-presenting cells. These observations are important for the development of immune interventions aiming at treatment of cancer.

Animals↗

Pharmacokinetics of tumor cell exposure to [14C]methotrexate after intracarotid administration without and with hyperosmotic opening of the blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers in rat brain tumors: a quantitative autoradiographic study.

Using quantitative autoradiography, we investigated the entry over 90 min of [14C]methotrexate (MTX) into C6 gliomas implanted bilaterally into Wistar rat brains. The [14C]MTX was administered into the right carotid artery, yielding ipsilateral "arterial" brain and tumor concentrations and contralateral "systemic" concentrations. In a separate group of tumor-bearing rats, mannitol 1.6 M was given into the right carotid artery prior to administering the [14C]MTX to disrupt the blood-brain barrier on the ipsilateral side. [14C]MTX tissue concentrations were measured in regions of 50 x 50 x 20 microns in tumor, peritumoral brain tissue (brain adjacent to tumor), and cerebral cortex. In the nonmannitol experiments, tissue concentrations from the rats at each time interval were fitted using a nonlinear curve fitting program, and the pharmacokinetic values of influx and efflux of [14C]MTX into the three compartments were calculated. The influx rate constant K1 for [14C]MTX ranged from 1.3 to 8.2 microliters/g/min in the tumor. Influx rate constants in the cortex were 1.3-1.9 microliters/g/min and in the brain adjacent to tumor were 1.7-2.8 microliters/g/min. The efflux rate constant k2 was approximated for each tissue but was less reliable than the K1 values. The k2 for tumor, brain adjacent to tumor, and cortex was always higher than the corresponding K1. Peak [14C]MTX concentrations in the tumor were highest after arterial infusion with hyperosmolar barrier disruption, lower after arterial administration without barrier modification, and lowest after systemic administration. However, cortical [14C]MTX concentration was also highest after arterial administration with barrier modification and higher than the highest tumor concentration. Furthermore, tissue exposure (concentration x time) was also highest in the cortex after barrier disruption. The [14C]MTX concentration x time (micrograms/min/g x 90 min +/- SEM) ratio between tumor and cortex after systemic administration was 33.4 +/- 4.1:15.7 +/- 1.9; after arterial administration it was 96.3 +/- 11.7:30.3 +/- 3.1; after arterial administration with barrier disruption it was 266.6 +/- 28.8:311.2 +/- 15.9. The greatest tumor:cortex ratio (3.1:1) occurred with arterial drug administration without barrier disruption. Disrupting the barrier enough to permit increased tumor exposure actually increased cortical exposure to a greater degree. The resulting poorer therapeutic ratio would not appear to support this technique in humans, at least for neurotoxic drugs.

Animals↗

Tumor necrosis factor-related, apoptosis-inducing ligand supports growth of mouse mastocytoma tumors by killing tumor-infiltrating macrophages.

TRAIL antisense transfected mastocytoma cells (R56VTas) injected into syngeneic DBA/2 mice demonstrate significantly delayed tumor growth compared to mock transfected cells (R56VTMo). TRAIL expression in R56VTas cells was successfully, albeit not completely, downregulated, as shown by Western blots, flow-cytometric analysis and functionally by loss of cytolytic activity against TRAIL-R-bearing target cells. Immunohistochemic and immunoblotting analyses of ex vivo tumors confirmed the lower expression of TRAIL by the antisense transfection compared to the mock transfection. Investigating the mechanism of the delayed tumor growth, it was found that neither T nor NK cells but activated macrophages infiltrated the tumors. The number of infiltrating macrophages was significantly lower in the mock transfected compared to the TRAIL antisense transfected tumor sections, indicating that TRAIL-expressing tumor cells may lyse macrophages. Indeed, activated macrophages proved to be sensitive to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. This indicates that, although macrophages can infiltrate the mastocytoma R56VT, they are in part eliminated by TRAIL-expressing tumor cells, allowing the tumor to rapidly grow. Hence, downregulation of TRAIL allows more macrophages to survive and to better attack the tumor cells, slowing down tumor growth. In conclusion, TRAIL expressed on R56VT tumor cells can impair an important innate immune defense mechanism against tumors by eliminating effector macrophages.

Animals↗

Restoration of tumor-specific HLA class I restricted cytotoxicity in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes of advanced breast cancer patients by in vitro stimulation with tumor antigen-pulsed autologous dendritic cells.

Breast tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are enriched in tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), and may represent a superior source of CTL compare to peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), for adoptive T cell immunotherapy of breast cancer. However, the immunocompetence of TIL and the possibility to consistently restore their tumor-specific lytic activity in vitro remains an open issue. In this study we evaluated the potential of tumor antigen-pulsed fully mature dendritic cell (DC) stimulation in restoring tumor-specific cytotoxicity in anergic TIL populations from advanced breast cancer patients. In addition we have compared tumor-specific T cell responses induced by tumor antigen-loaded DC stimulation of TIL to responses induced from PBL. Although TIL were consistently non-cytotoxic after isolation or culture in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2), in matched experiments from three consecutive patients, tumor-lysate-pulsed DC-stimulated CD8+ T cell derived from TIL were found to be significantly more cytotoxic than PBL (p < 0.05). In addition, cytotoxicity against autologous tumor cells was more significantly inhibited by an anti-HLA class I (W6/32) MAb in TIL compared to PBL (p < 0.05). CTL populations derived from TIL and PBL did not lyse autologous EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines, and showed negligible cytotoxicity against the NK-sensitive cell line K562. Furthermore, in both CD8+ T cell populations the majority of the tumor-specific CTL exhibited a Th1 cytokine bias (IFN-gamma(high)/IL-4(low)). Taken together, these data show that tumor lysate-pulsed mature DC can consistently restore tumor-specific lytic activity in non-cytotoxic breast cancer TIL. These results may have important implications for the treatment of chemotherapy resistant breast cancer with active or adoptive immunotherapy.

Adult↗

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected tumor xenografts as an in vivo model for antiviral therapy: role of alpha/beta interferon in restriction of tumor growth in nude mice injected with HIV-infected U937 tumor cells.

The host factors involved in the restriction of tumor growth were studied in nude mice transplanted with a cloned line of chronically human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected U937 cells. HIV-infected and uninfected U937 cells exhibited the same growth patterns in culture. However, HIV-infected cells were not tumorigenic when injected subcutaneously in nude mice, whereas large solid tumors were observed in mice injected with uninfected U937 cells. Injection of nude mice with antibody to alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) enabled HIV-infected U937 cells to grow progressively in approximately 90 to 100% of mice. HIV-infected U937 cells formed solid tumors in the majority (60 to 90%) of either immunosuppressed (splenectomized, irradiated, and anti-asialo-GM1-treated) or genetically immunodeficient (bg/nu/xid) nude mice. In mice treated with antibodies to IFN-alpha/beta with established HIV-positive tumors, a direct correlation was found between p24 antigenemia and tumor size. Treatment of established HIV-positive U937 cell tumors with human IFN-alpha or mouse IFN-alpha/beta resulted in a clear-cut inhibition of both tumor growth and p24 HIV antigenemia. In contrast, treatment with tumor necrosis factor alpha markedly inhibited tumor growth but did not significantly decrease serum p24 levels. 3'-Azido-3'-deoxythymidine treatment did not affect either tumor growth or the levels of serum p24 antigen. These data indicate that endogenous IFN-alpha/beta is a crucial factor in the restriction of both tumor growth and p24 antigenemia in mice injected with HIV-infected tumor cells. Moreover, the results suggest that the development of HIV-1 p24 antigenemia in athymic immunosuppressed mice may represent an interesting in vivo model for anti-HIV therapy.

Animals↗

Tumor-immune partitioning and clustering algorithm for identifying tumor-immune cell spatial interaction signatures within the tumor microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence supports the importance of characterizing the organizational patterns of various cellular constituents in the tumor microenvironment in precision oncology. Most existing data on immune cell infiltrates in tumors, which are based on immune cell counts or nearest neighbor-type analyses, have failed to fully capture the cellular organization and heterogeneity. METHODS: We introduce a computational algorithm, termed Tumor-Immune Partitioning and Clustering (TIPC), that jointly measures immune cell partitioning between tumor epithelial and stromal areas and immune cell clustering versus dispersion. As proof-of-principle, we applied TIPC to a prospective cohort incident tumor biobank containing 931 colorectal carcinoma cases. TIPC identified tumor subtypes with unique spatial patterns between tumor cells and T lymphocytes linked to certain molecular pathologic and prognostic features. T lymphocyte identification and phenotyping were achieved using multiplexed (multispectral) immunofluorescence. In a separate hepatocellular carcinoma cohort, we replaced the stromal component with specific immune cell types-CXCR3+CD68+ or CD8+-to profile their spatial relationships with CXCL9+CD68+ cells. RESULTS: Six unsupervised TIPC subtypes based on T lymphocyte distribution patterns were identified, comprising two cold and four hot subtypes. Three of the four hot subtypes were associated with significantly longer colorectal cancer (CRC)-specific survival compared to a reference cold subtype. Our analysis showed that variations in T-cell densities among the TIPC subtypes did not strictly correlate with prognostic benefits, underscoring the prognostic significance of immune cell spatial patterns. Additionally, TIPC revealed two spatially distinct and cell density-specific subtypes among microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancers, indicating its potential to upgrade tumor subtyping. TIPC was also applied to additional immune cell types, eosinophils and neutrophils, identified using morphology and supervised machine learning; here two tumor subtypes with similarly low densities, namely 'cold, tumor-rich' and 'cold, stroma-rich', exhibited differential prognostic associations. Lastly, we validated our methods and results using The Cancer Genome Atlas colon and rectal adenocarcinoma data (n = 570). Moreover, applying TIPC to hepatocellular carcinoma cases (n = 27) highlighted critical cell interactions like CXCL9-CXCR3 and CXCL9-CD8. CONCLUSIONS: Unsupervised discoveries of microgeometric tissue organizational patterns and novel tumor subtypes using the TIPC algorithm can deepen our understanding of the tumor immune microenvironment and likely inform precision cancer immunotherapy.

Humans↗

Local radiation therapy of B16 melanoma tumors increases the generation of tumor antigen-specific effector cells that traffic to the tumor.

Immunotherapy of cancer is attractive because of its potential for specificity and limited side effects. The efficacy of this approach may be improved by providing adjuvant signals and an inflammatory environment for immune cell activation. We evaluated antitumor immune responses in mice after treatment of OVA-expressing B16-F0 tumors with single (15 Gy) or fractionated (5 x 3 Gy) doses of localized ionizing radiation. Irradiated mice had cells with greater capability to present tumor Ags and specific T cells that secreted IFN-gamma upon peptide stimulation within tumor-draining lymph nodes than nonirradiated mice. Immune activation in tumor-draining lymph nodes correlated with an increase in the number of CD45(+) cells infiltrating single dose irradiated tumors compared with nonirradiated mice. Similarly, irradiated mice had increased numbers of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes that secreted IFN-gamma and lysed tumor cell targets. Peptide-specific IFN-gamma responses were directed against both the class I and class II MHC-restricted OVA peptides OVA(257-264) and OVA(323-339), respectively, as well as the endogenous class I MHC-restricted B16 tumor peptide tyrosinase-related protein 2(180-188). Adoptive transfer studies indicated that the increased numbers of tumor Ag-specific immune cells within irradiated tumors were most likely due to enhanced trafficking of these cells to the tumor site. Together these results suggest that localized radiation can increase both the generation of antitumor immune effector cells and their trafficking to the tumor site.

Animals↗

The relationship between microsubstaging variables, age at diagnosis, and tumor weight of children with stage I/favorable histology Wilms' tumor. A report from the National Wilms' Tumor study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between histologic microsubstaging variables, patient age, and tumor specimen weight in patients with Stage I/favorable histology Wilms' tumors. METHODS: The authors reviewed all randomized patients from the Fourth National Wilms' Tumor Study, who had Stage I/favorable histology Wilms' tumors evaluated for one or more of the microsubstaging variables: (1) the presence of an inflammatory pseudocapsule, (2) renal sinus invasion, (3) tumor in the intrarenal vessels, and (4) tumor capsule invasion. The authors determined the correlation between microsubstaging variables and age at diagnosis or tumor specimen weight. RESULTS: Patients who were younger than 2 years of age at diagnosis were significantly more likely to have all negative microsubstaging variables. Patients who had tumors weighing less than 550 g were more likely to have all negative microsubstaging variables. However, neither renal sinus invasion nor tumor in the intrarenal vessels was more frequent in tumors weighing more than 550 g. CONCLUSIONS: An age at diagnosis of younger than 2 years and a tumor specimen weight of less than 550 g are highly correlated with the absence of adverse microsubstaging variables. The clinical variables of age at diagnosis and tumor specimen weight, compared with the assessment of microsubstaging variables, have the practical advantage of being more objectively determined and not requiring a central pathologic review for confirmation.

Adolescent↗

Anti-tumor X anti-lymphocyte heteroconjugates augment colon tumor cell lysis in vitro and prevent tumor growth in vivo.

Cross-linking an anti-tumor antibody, specific for tumor cell surface antigens, and an anti-lymphocyte antibody, specific for the T lymphocyte receptor complex (TCR/CD3), produces a heteroconjugate that can direct T cells to lyse tumor cells. We tested the ability of anti-tumor X anti-lymphocyte (CD3) heteroconjugates to redirect human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) to lyse human colon cancer cells in cytotoxicity assays and in a murine colon tumor model. We demonstrated in vitro, that cultured human PBLs alone produced low levels of tumor lysis, but PBLs treated with anti-tumor X anti-CD3 heteroconjugates produced significantly greater tumor cell lysis (P less than 0.0025). Similarly, nude mice injected with LS174T human colon cancer cells and treated with cultured human PBLs and anti-tumor X anti-CD3 heteroconjugates survived significantly longer than saline control mice (P less than 0.01), or mice treated with PBLs alone (P less than 0.01), or heteroconjugates alone (P less than 0.05). F(ab')2 heteroconjugates were equally as effective in prolonging animal survival, but irrelevant heteroconjugates and monoclonal anti-tumor antibodies showed no therapeutic benefit. Anti-tumor X anti-CD3 heteroconjugates may represent an effective approach to tumor-specific cellular immunotherapy.

Animals↗

Use of the vasodilator sodium nitroprusside during local hyperthermia: effects on tumor temperature and tumor response in a rat tumor model.

PURPOSE: The effect of a decrease in the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on the tumor temperature during hyperthermia (HT), and on the cytotoxic effect of HT, was studied in the BT4An tumor transplanted to the hind limb of BD IX rats. Experiments with two different anesthetics, pentobarbital and the midazolam/fentanyl/fluanisone combination (MFF), were performed to secure reliable conclusions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In the tumor response experiments local waterbath HT at 44.0 degrees C was given for 60 min. Sodium nitroprusside was administered as a continuous intravenous infusion to lower the MAP to 60 or 80 mmHg during HT. In two other experiments the temperature at the base of the tumor during HT was measured before and during SNP infusion. In animals without tumor the temperature was measured subcutaneously on the foot during HT with or without SNP-induced hypotension. RESULTS: When SNP was given to lower the MAP to 60 mmHg during HT in MFF anesthetized animals, the median tumor growth time (TGT) was 70 days, compared to 14.5 days in the HT alone group. The corresponding figures were 127 and 12.1 days with pentobarbital anesthesia. In the HT + SNP group, more than 40% cure was observed in both experiments. No cures were seen in any of the other groups. Hyperthermia alone prolonged the TGT slightly, whereas SNP given alone had no effect, compared to controls. When the MAP was lowered to 80 mmHg by SNP infusion during HT (MFF anesthesia), the median TGT was 19.9 days, which was significantly longer than that in the HT alone group (10.9 days). In the MAP range from 60 to 120 mmHg, a nearly linear relationship between the MAP and the tumor temperature was found during HT in MFF anesthetized animals. With both anesthetics, the median temperature at the base of the tumor was about 0.8 degrees C higher during HT when the MAP was lowered to 60 mmHg by SNP. In animals without tumors, the temperature subcutaneously on the foot was 0.3 and 0.4 degrees C higher during SNP infusion in the MFF and pentobarbital group, respectively. CONCLUSION: We have developed a small animal model in inbred rats feasible for exploring the influence of a stable blood pressure reduction induced by SNP, on the effect of HT given alone or in combination with other treatment modalities to a transplantable tumor. The greatly increased cytotoxic effect of local waterbath HT in the present tumor response experiments is probably a consequence of increased tumor temperature during SNP infusion.

Animals↗

T cells from the tumor microenvironment of patients with progressive myeloma can generate strong, tumor-specific cytolytic responses to autologous, tumor-loaded dendritic cells.

Most untreated cancer patients develop progressive tumors. We tested the capacity of T lymphocytes from patients with clinically progressive, multiple myeloma to develop killer function against fresh autologous tumor. In this malignancy, it is feasible to reproducibly evaluate freshly isolated tumor cells and T cells from the marrow tumor environment. When we did this with seven consecutive patients, with all clinical stages of disease, we did not detect reactivity to autologous cancer cells. However, both cytolytic and IFN-gamma-producing responses to autologous myeloma were generated in six of seven patients after stimulation ex vivo with dendritic cells that had processed autologous tumor cells. The antitumor effectors recognized fresh autologous tumor but not nontumor cells in the bone marrow, myeloma cell lines, dendritic cells loaded with tumor-derived Ig, or allogeneic tumor. Importantly, these CD8(+) effectors developed with similar efficiency by using T cells from both the blood and the bone marrow tumor environment. Therefore, even in the setting of clinical tumor progression, the tumor bed of myeloma patients contains T cells that can be activated readily by dendritic cells to kill primary autologous tumor.

Bone Marrow Cells↗