Tum variants: immunogenic variants obtained by mutagen treatment of tumor cells

Specific and nonspecific immunity in the prevention of spontaneous tumours

Antitumour vaccines cannot cure established tumours. However, tumour cells engineered to release cytokines can halt progression to cancer by inhibiting the angiogenic phenotype of pretumoural cells and activating tumour-associated leukocytes, thus they might prove useful in immunizing those at risk of cancer.

Immunization with mutagen-treated (tum-) cells causes rejection of nonimmunogenic rat glioma isografts

The ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced rat glioma N32 was treated with the mutagenic compound N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and the surviving cells cloned by limited dilution. Out of 20 clones tested 8 did not produce tumors subcutaneously even after challenge doses 3 log units above the minimal tumor dose for N32. All of 5 clones grew in a retarded manner intracerebrally but produced tumors in some animals. Preimmunizations with three of the rejected clones (tum-) gave protection against subcutaneous and intracerebral isografts of the unmutated N32. This effect could be enhanced if the cells used for immunizations were pretreated with interferon gamma (IFN gamma) for 48 h. If immunizations were started subsequent to challenge, only immunization with one of two tested tum- clones pretreated with IFN gamma induced significant rejection against intracerebral N32 isografts. Both N32 and its tum- clones were MHC class I positive and MHC class II negative. IFN gamma treatment enhanced the MHC class I expression with 20%-90% on the tum- clones and with 40% on N32. MHC class II expression could be induced on N32 cells after 7 days of IFN gamma treatment but not on any of the tum- clones tested. We conclude that the enhancing effect of IFN gamma treatment on tumor isograft rejection may depend on up-regulation of MHC class I but not of MHC class II. This investigation demonstrates that it is possible to induce rejection of weakly immunogenic intracerebral brain tumors by immunization with selected highly immunogenic tumor cell mutants. In conjunction with relevant cytokines, the cross-protective effect of these tum- variants might be further enhanced and serve as a model for immunotherapy against malignant human brain tumors.

Strategies for cytokine utilisation in tumor therapy

The state of the art with regard to the employment of various cytokine-based tumor immunotherapy strategies and their mechanisms of action are critically reviewed. As matters now stand, adoptive transfer of LAK cells or tumor infiltrating lymphocytes together with high doses of IL-2 constitutes the only immunologic way to hinder tumor growth in advanced stages of cancer. On the other hand, many experimental data show that the local presence of cytokines, either injected repeatedly at tumor site or released by cytokine-gene engineered tumor cells, arouses immunogenicity in apparently nonimmunogenic spontaneous tumors. By strengthening the notion that most tumors are potentially immunogenic, these findings offer substantial evidence to stress the potential use of cytokines as a component of new tumor vaccines.

Characterization of the individual and cross-reactive antigens involved in the anti-tumor immunity induced by use of an H-2K-erbB recombinant gene transfectant

The specificities of the antisera raised in the CDF1 mice that had been immunized with the P1.HTR tumor cells xenogenized by transfection with recombinant H-2Kb-erbB gene were studied. The antisera cross-reacted with a broad range of tumor cell lines maintained either in vitro or in vivo in an immunofluorescence assay. However, they did not react at all with syngeneic normal tissue cells from thymus, spleen, bone marrow and fetal liver. Even though antigens related to the murine leukemia virus and murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) were demonstrated in many of the tumor cell lines tested with specific antibodies, these antigens did not seem to be primarily involved in the anti-P1.HTR antibody activity. The 74 kDa molecule, which was precipitated by the anti-P1.HTR anti-serum from the surface radiolabeled cell extract of P1.HTR tumor and was discriminated from the 70 kDa molecule precipitated by the anti-MuMTV serum, was widely distributed among various tumor cell lines tested, but was absent in normal tissue cells. In contrast to the extensive cross-reaction by the antibody, the cytotoxic T lymphocyte generated in the P1.HTR immune mice were shown to be specific to the P1.HTR tumor, and the 98 kDa molecule was precipitated by the anti-P1.HTR serum from the P1.HTR tumor but not from other tumors tested. It is suggested from these results that the 98 kDa molecule is a candidate for an individual tumor-specific transplantation antigen, and is immunodominant for inducing cytotoxic T lymphocytes to coexisting intrinsic retroviral antigens and other serologically cross-reactive tumor antigens.

F11C antigen: a membrane marker able to distinguish two regressive and progressive variants from a rat colon adenocarcinoma

Cell variants that differ in their tumorigenicity and immunogenicity have been isolated from a BDIX rat colon adenocarcinoma cell line, DHD/K12. One variant, PRO, and the clones derived from it, are poorly immunogenic and induce progressive and metastatic tumors; the other one, REG, and its clones, are highly immunogenic and induce regressive tumors. When looking for a membrane marker distinguishing between PRO and REG lines, we obtained monoclonal hybridomas by immunizing BALB/c mice with PROb or REGb cell clones. Hybridoma F11C, producing an IgM monoclonal antibody (MAb) was able to distinguish between the cell variants on membrane immunofluorescence. All REGb cells strongly express F11C membrane antigen. On PROb cells, F11C antigen expression is weak, as demonstrated by cytofluorimetric analysis, and limited to a fraction of the cell population. The F11C membrane antigen is highly specific for the DHD/K12 cell line and the variants derived from it, but is not expressed on cells dissociated from the DHD transplanted tumor, from which DHD/K12 was established, suggesting that F11C antigen emerged during cell culture. Fluorescence absorption on synthetic oligosaccharides demonstrated that F11C antibody cross-reacts with A type 3, A type 4 and A type 5 chain blood group tetrasaccharides.

Immune surveillance: both CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ T cells control in vivo growth of P815 mastocytoma

The aim of this study was to examine whether a spontaneous immune response controls neoplastic growth in P815-bearing DBA/2 mice, and to characterize the cells involved in tumor resistance in vivo. Several cell lineages such as T-cell-receptor (TcR)-bearing T cells, NK cells and macrophages mediate some anti-tumor activity in vitro. P815 was chosen as a model because it is weakly immunogenic and is a good target both for tumor-specific, MHC-restricted CTL-mediated lysis and for MHC-unrestricted lysis exerted by long-term cultured lymphocytes or activated macrophages. Since most "NK-like activity" in freshly isolated populations appears to be associated with CD3- cells, whereas antigen-specific, MHC-restricted T cells mostly express CD3 determinants, CD3 was a good marker for evaluating the role of T cells and "NK" cells in tumor resistance in vivo. The survival of anti-CD3-treated animals that were inoculated with tumor cells was strongly reduced (mean survival time: 17 days vs. 40 days for the control group) and was associated with increased tumor growth rate. We followed the same approach to define the T-cell subset(s) that mediate(s) this immune response. Both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were required for induction of immune control on neoplastic growth. The approach used has revealed the important role of CD4+ T cells in immune responses that control in vivo growth of a class-I-positive, class-II-negative tumor and suggests that these cells may play a central role in tumor resistance. Since CD4+ cells are activated by soluble, exogenous proteins, this finding may have important implications for immunotherapy.

Induction of high-grade anti-tumor immunity by use of a recombinant H-2Kb/avian erythroblastosis virus erbB gene transfectant

The recombinant H-2Kb-erbB gene, encoding for a part of the H-2 class I antigen and the kinase domain of the V-erbB peptide, was successfully introduced into murine mastocytoma P815 variant P1.HTR cells, which resulted in low but significant cell-surface expression of the hybrid gene product. When the chimeric gene transfectant was inoculated into the CDF1 mice, it soon grew but regressed thereafter. The tumorigenicity of this transfectant was lower than the H-2Kb gene transfectant that expressed the H-2Kb antigen at a comparable level. These CDF1 mice that had received the chimeric gene transfectant obtained a high-grade anti-tumor immunity against the challenge of a high dose of parental tumor. Corresponding to these observations, anti-tumor cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which lyse parental P1.HTR cells but not syngeneic L1210 or NS-1 tumor cells, were developed in the peritoneal cavity of mice that had been inoculated with the transfectant and parental tumor. Definite antibody activity binding to parental P1.HTR tumor cells was also demonstrated in the sera of these mice, precipitating 40-kDa, 74-kDa and 98-kDa molecules from the surface of the radiolabeled P1-HTR tumor cells. The results suggested that the chimeric H-2-erB gene transfectant efficiently triggers both cellular and humoral anti-tumor immune responses.

Changes of immunological patterns of human cancer cells treated in vitro with a triazene compound

Previous experimental evidence indicates that immunogenicity of mouse tumor cells can be increased by treatment with dacarbazine and other triazene compounds. The present studies have been conducted on the human cell lines H125 (lung cancer), 1246 (melanoma), X3 (EBV-immortalized B cells) subjected to in vitro treatment with 4 (3-methyl-1-triazeno) benzoic acid potassium salt (MTBA). Untreated or drug-treated sublines were tested for susceptibility to allogeneic NK effector cells, either non-stimulated or pretreated with beta-Interferon. In the case of X3 cell line and its MTBA-treated subline the expression of the EBV-associated antigens and the capability of eliciting autologous cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) were also investigated. The results suggest that a modification of membrane antigenic pattern could be induced by MTBA treatment in terms of changes of cell susceptibility to cell-mediated lysis, expression of EBV-related antigens and capability to elicit autologous CTL.

Mutagen-induced Imm+ variants: the need for viable and cloned Imm+ variants for effective protection against a primary murine tumor and its metastases

Immunogenic variants (Imm+) generated after the treatment of murine tumor cells with the mutagen N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) can produce a strong protective response against non-mutagenized parent tumor cells. The use of this methodology to treat human tumors is currently thwarted by technological difficulties in applying the findings obtained with murine models to human disease. Two of these difficulties are described in this study. The first is that Imm+ variants lose most of their immunogenicity after treatment with X-irradiation or mitomycin C. The second is that mutagen-treated tumor cells must be cloned so as to select for Imm+ variants, for the presence of as few as 0.001 per cent tumorigenic cells within the bulk population will result in the failure of the protective effect of the Imm+ variants. Because of these and other difficulties with mutagen-induced Imm+ variants, we have developed a different approach to producing such variants using transfection of tumor cells with foreign genes. In contrast to mutagen induced Imm+ variants, these variants have been shown to retain their immunogenicity after X-irradiation.

Specificity of the immune response leading to protection or enhancement by regressive and progressive variants of a rat colon carcinoma

Two cell clones, K12/TRb (PROb) and K12/TSb (REGb), have been isolated from the same serially transplantable tumor, DHD, established from a colon carcinoma chemically induced in the rat. Inoculation of REGb cells gives a tumor which regresses within 4 to 8 weeks and generates immune protection against subsequent injection of the progressive tumor cells, PROb. Inoculation of PROb cells gives a progressive tumor and generates tolerance allowing progressive growth of contralaterally injected REGb cells. Inoculation of REGb cells fully protects the host against growth of a DHD tumor graft, the tumor from which REGb and PROb cells were originally obtained. On the other hand, inoculation of REGb cells does not confer any protection against growth of 4 other syngeneic tumor grafts, DHA, DHB, DHC and DHE. These tumors were obtained from other colonic tumors induced as DHD by 1.2 dimethylhydrazine (DMH). Progressive growth of the tumor induced by inoculation of REGb cells is observed in animals bearing a contralateral DHD tumor, but not in animals bearing tumor from other transplantable lines, DHA, DHB, DHC and DHE. Our results show that immune enhancement of a regressive tumor and the immune protection that it confers constitute specific responses to a tumor-specific transplantation antigen present on a single transplantable colon tumor.

Correlations of in vivo growth of CTL-susceptible and -resistant variant tumor cell lines in CTL-responder AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b and -nonresponder AKR.H-2b mice

Spontaneously occurring lymphoma/leukemias in AKR and AKR.H-2b mice are characterized by their expression of the Gross cell surface antigen (GCSA) and their weak immunogenicity. Although of a responder H-2 type, AKR.H-2b mice could not raise cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against a syngeneic GCSA+ tumor (AKR.H-2bSL1). In contrast, AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b mice served as a source for "antiviral" CTLs specific for GCSA+ tumors such as AKR.H-2bSL1, but not for CTLs against the cl.18-5 variant tumor, an antiviral CTL-resistant subclone derived from AKR.H-2bSL1. In the present study in vivo tumor challenge experiments demonstrated that both the ability of the recipient strain to raise CTLs and the sensitivity of the tumor to the CTLs were critical factors which determine tumor growth and recipient mortality. Furthermore, the ability to raise protective immunity against AKR.H-2bSL1 and cl.18-5 tumor challenge by preimmunization was investigated. It was not possible to raise protective immunity in CTL-nonresponder AKR.H-2b mice. In the case of AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b mice, immunization with allogeneic GCSA+ E male G2 tumor cells leads to complete protective immunity--not only against parental AKR.H-2bSL1 but, somewhat surprisingly, also against cl.18-5 variant, tumor challenge. Consistent with these findings and at the same time with an in vivo role for antiviral CTL, however, CTLs directed to the E male G2, AKR.H-2bSL1, and cl.18-5 tumors could be generated from the spleens of mice which had rejected cl.18-5 tumor cells. Interestingly, immunization of AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b mice with syngeneic AKR.H-2bSL1 tumor cells failed to raise any protective immunity. Thus, the data suggested that the concurrent recognition of allogeneic components with tumor-associated transplantation antigens (TATA) might be important in the induction of sufficient protective immunity against syngeneic GCSA+ tumors. Finally, the possible relationship of TATA and retroviral antigens, such as gp70 and p30 or as defined by CTL clones, is discussed.

Anti-tumor surveillance of non-contact-inhibited transformed cell lines

In order to determine if the correlated expression of transformation and tumorigenicity is affected by the agents used to induce transformants or by the immune status of the host used to test the tumorigenicity of transformants, we derived a series of cloned cell lines from foci of transformed cells induced by treatment of the contact-inhibited mouse cell line B/C-N7.ICI with the DNA demethylating agent 5-azacytidine (5-AZC) or the DNA demethylating and mutating agent benzo(a)pyrene dihydrodiol epoxide (BPDE). The transformed cell lines were injected into syngeneic nude and normal mice to determine their tumorigenicity. The results of this analysis showed that 93% of the transformants induced by 5-AZC treatment grew as tumors when injected into nude mice. Of those lines capable of growing as tumors in nude mice, 86% were also tumorigenic when injected into normal mice. In contrast, only 64% of BPDE-induced transformants grew as tumors in nude mice, and of those, only 44% were also tumorigenic in normal mice. The existence of non-contact-inhibited transformants that are tumorigenic only in nude mice indicates that host anti-tumor immune surveillance mechanisms are operative in normal mice. Further, the difference in both the percentage of transformed cell lines that are tumorigenic and the percentage of tumorigenic transformants that are susceptible to immune surveillance when transformants are induced by BPDE as compared to 5-AZC indicates that the transforming agent can affect both the correlation between the expression of transformation and tumorigenicity, and the interaction between the immune system and tumorigenic transformants.

Inhibition of murine lymphoma growth by adoptive transfer of lymphocytes sensitized to a xenogenized tumor variant

Lymphocytes immune to a highly immunogenic ("xenogenized") variant of a murine lymphoma--which were shown to exert anti-xenogenized tumor activity in a previously described model of tumor immunotherapy--were tested in the present study for possible suppressive effects on the growth of an i.c. graft of the original lymphoma. Remarkable tumor-inhibitory effects followed the i.v. infusion of splenic lymphocytes sensitized or restimulated in vitro, or derived from animals immunized in vivo with the xenogenized tumor cells. The pattern of inhibition of the parental cells was apparently similar to that previously described for the xenogenized variant, but preliminary evidence suggests that the underlying mechanisms may be different.

Chemical xenogenization of experimental tumors

Chemical xenogenization occurs when experimental tumors, treated in vivo or in vitro with selected chemicals, become immunogenic, i.e., able to induce a strong rejection response, immunological in nature, in the histocompatible hosts. Unlike modifications induced by haptens, changes in tumor cell immunogenicity associated with chemical xenogenization are heritable as a result of drug interference with the genetic code. Drugs endowed with potent mutagenic activity are known to be powerful xenogenizing agents, and their mechanism of action is traditionally regarded as involving changes in DNA nucleotide sequence. Triazene and nitrosoguanidine derivatives are among the best known examples of this type of compound, and a large body of information has been accumulated over the years regarding the immunogenic properties of the tumor variants obtained following treatment with those xenogenizing agents. The present paper reviews this information, and also discusses the therapeutic implications of xenogenization in experimental systems of tumor immunotherapy. Xenogenization of murine tumors has also been obtained by means of chemicals devoid of mutagenic activity but capable of affecting gene transcriptional activity. The characteristics of this 'new' type of xenogenization are also reviewed and compared to those of triazene xenogenization.