Regression of human metastatic renal cell carcinoma after vaccination with tumor cell-dendritic cell hybrids.

Reports of spontaneous regressions of metastases and the demonstration of tumor-reactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes indicate the importance of the host's immune system in controlling the devastating course of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Recent research indicates that immunization with hybrids of tumor and antigen presenting cells results in protective immunity and rejection of established tumors in various rodent models. Here, we present a hybrid cell vaccination study of 17 patients. Using electrofusion techniques, we generated hybrids of autologous tumor and allogeneic dendritic cells that presented antigens expressed by the tumor in concert with the co-stimulating capabilities of dendritic cells. After vaccination, and with a mean follow-up time of 13 months, four patients completely rejected all metastatic tumor lesions, one presented a 'mixed response', and two had a tumor mass reduction of greater 50%. We also demonstrate induction of HLA-A2-restricted cytotoxic T cells reactive with the Muc1 tumor-associated antigen and recruitment of CD8+ lymphocytes into tumor challenge sites. Our data indicate that hybrid cell vaccination is a safe and effective therapy for renal cell carcinoma and may provide a broadly applicable strategy for other malignancies with unknown antigens.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha and CD40 ligand antagonize the inhibitory effects of interleukin 10 on T-cell stimulatory capacity of dendritic cells.

Interleukin (IL)-10 secretion by tumor cells was demonstrated to be one of the mechanisms by which tumor cells can escape immunological recognition and destruction. In dendritic cells (DCs), which are currently used for vaccination therapies for malignant diseases, IL-10 inhibits IL-12 production and induces a state of antigen-specific anergy in CD4- and CD8-positive T cells. We therefore analyzed the effects of different activation stimuli including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and CD40 ligation on IL-10 mediated inhibition of DC development and stimulatory capacity. In our study, the addition of IL-10 to the cultures containing granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor and IL-4 with or without LPS completely inhibited the generation of DCs from peripheral blood monocytes. These cells remained CD14 positive and expressed high levels of IL-10 receptor (IL-10R), suggesting that IL-10 mediates its effects by up-regulating the IL-10R. In contrast, the simultaneous incubation of monocytes with IL-10 and TNF-alpha or soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) resulted in the generation of CD83-positive DCs, induction of nuclear localized RelB, and inhibition of IL-10R up-regulation. DCs grown in the presence of IL-10 and TNF-alpha or sCD40L elicited efficient CTL responses against viral and tumor-associated peptide antigens, which, however, were reduced as compared with DC cultures generated without IL-10. IL-10 decreased the production of IL-6 and the expression of IL-12 in the presence of TNF-alpha or sCD40L, but it had no effect on IL-15, IL-18, and TNF-alpha secretion. Our results show that TNF-alpha or CD40 ligation can antagonize the IL-10-mediated inhibition on DC function, suggesting that depending on activation stimuli, the presence of IL-10 does not necessarily result in T-cell anergy.

Differential expression of CD44 splice variants in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma and in normal pancreas.

Immunohistochemical screening of pancreatic adenocarcinomas from 24 different patients and 9 pancreatic carcinoma cell lines revealed variant CD44 expression in all specimens tested. In contrast to normal pancreatic tissue, carcinomas were strongly positive for epitopes encoded by variant exons v5, whereas v6 was expressed on carcinoma cells as well as normal ductal pancreatic cells. Analysis of RNA expression revealed clear differences between normal pancreatic tissue and tumor specimens. In normal pancreas, v6 and v3 solely and one major chain consisting of v6-v10 were expressed, whereas in pancreatic carcinoma, multiple splice variants were detected. In about 80% of all carcinoma cases and all cell lines tested, the exon v5 appeared in the chain containing at least v4-v10. These data thus far suggest that not the presence alone but the chain composition of the CD44 variant chains could be important for their altered function because one of the major differences between normal and cancer tissue is the linkage of CD44v5 to the CD44v6-containing chain.

Immune regulatory loops determine productive interactions within human T lymphocyte-dendritic cell clusters.

Help for the induction of cytolytic T lymphocytes is mediated by dendritic cells (DC) that are conditioned by CD40 signaling. We identified tumor necrosis factor family member CD27L/CD70, which is expressed by cytolytic T lymphocytes on interaction with DC to control CD154 (CD40L) up-regulation on CD45RA+ helper T cells for subsequent DC stimulation. The results show that the initiation of a cytolytic immune response is determined by regulatory circuits, requiring simultaneous activation and differentiation of all cells involved in T lymphocyte-DC cluster formation.