Expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in nasopharyngeal carcinoma impairs the cytolytic function of peripheral blood lymphocytes.

BACKGROUND: Tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells and infiltrating lymphocytes are frequently found in tumor tissues in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Most patients with NPC, however, especially those with advanced stages, have a poor clinical prognosis despite conventional immunotherapy. The aim of this work was to examine the effect of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an immunosuppressive enzyme, on the lymphocyte function in NPC. METHODS: The NPC cell line CNE2 was treated by interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) and the levels of IDO expression was analyzed by Western blotting and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Lymphocytes from health human exposed to the milieu created by IDO-positive CNE2 cells and the lymphocyte cytotoxicity to target tumor cells was analyzed by standard lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Additionally, expression of IDO was determined by Immunohistochemical assay in the tumor tissues form clinically evaluated NPC. RESULTS: IDO expression was acutely induced in the NPC cell line CNE2 by low dose interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) or by co-incubation with activated lymphocytes. Exposure to the milieu created by IDO-positive CNE2 cells did not promote lymphocyte death, but lymphocyte cytotoxicity against target tumor cells was impaired. The suppression of lymphocyte cytotoxic function was fully restored when the conditioned medium was replaced by fresh medium for 24 h. In additionally, the IDO-positive cells were found scattered in the tumor tissues from patients with NPC. CONCLUSION: Altogether, these findings suggest that IDO-mediated immunosuppression may be involved in the tumor immune evasion, and that blocking IDO activity in tumor cells may help to re-establish an effective anti-tumor T cell response in NPC.

[Preparation of anti-human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase polyclonal antibody].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a cytosolic hemoprotein, catalyzes the rate-limiting step in tryptophan catabolism along the kynurenine pathway in mammals, arrests the growth of pathogens, and suppresses T-cell responses, therefore, leads to IDO-dependent tumor immune tolerance. This study was to express and purify His-hIDO fusion protein and to generate rabbit anti-human IDO polyclonal antibody, which was used to analyze IDO expression in tumor cells. METHODS: Human IDO cDNA was cloned into pET30a(+). The recombinant vector pET30a(+)-hIDO was transformed into BL21 after sequencing. The expression of His-hIDO protein was induced by IPTG. The anti-human IDO polyclonal antibody was obtained by immunizing rabbits with purified His-hIDO protein. The quality of the antibody was identified by Western blot. IDO expression in human fibroblast cancer cell line A431 and liver cancer cell line HepG2 induced by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) was also analyzed using the antibody. RESULTS: His-hIDO fusion protein was specifically combined with His-probe polyclonal antibody. The rabbit anti-human IDO polyclonal antibody was of high titer with high specificity. It could recognize IDO expression induced by IFN-gamma in A431 and HepG2 cells. CONCLUSION: The rabbit anti-human IDO polyclonal antibody could recognize IDO expression in tumor cells in vitro effectively, therefore, provides a tool to study the role of IDO in tumor immune tolerance.