Equivalence of human and mouse CD4 in enhancing antigen responses by a mouse class II-restricted T cell hybridoma.

We have examined the ability of hCD4 to interact functionally with mouse class II MHC molecules using the mouse T cell hybridoma BI-141, specific for beef insulin. We have previously shown that expression of mouse CD4 results in a marked enhancement of IL-2 release by BI-141 cells in response to beef insulin or, in a cross-reactive response, to pork insulin, on the appropriate mouse APCs. We now demonstrate that expression of hCD4 results in an equivalent stimulation of antigen responses by this mouse T cell hybridoma. The specificity of this effect was demonstrated by mAb and gp120 blocking studies. These data provide the first direct evidence for function of hCD4 and in an exclusively mouse system.

The alpha 4 integrin chain is a ligand for alpha 4 beta 7 and alpha 4 beta 1.

The heterodimeric alpha 4 integrins alpha 4 beta 7 lymphocyte Peyer's patch adhesion molecule ([LPAM]-1) and alpha 4 beta 1 (very late antigen-4) are cell surface adhesion molecules involved in lymphocyte trafficking and lymphocyte-cell and matrix interactions. Known cellular ligands include vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, which binds to alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 4 beta 7, and the mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule (MAdCAM)-1, which binds to alpha 4 beta 7. Here we show that the alpha 4 chain of these integrins can itself serve as a ligand. The alpha 4 chain, immunoaffinity purified and immobilized on glass slides, binds thymocytes and T lymphocytes. Binding exhibits divalent cation requirements and temperature sensitivity which are characteristic of integrin-mediated interactions, and is specifically inhibited by anti-alpha 4 integrin antibodies, which exert their effect at the cell surface. Cells expressing exclusively alpha 4 beta 7 (TK-1) or alpha 4 beta 1 (L1-2) both bound avidly, whereas alpha 4-negative cells did not. A soluble 34-kD alpha 4 chain fragment retained binding activity, and it inhibited lymphocyte adhesion to alpha 4 ligands. It has been shown that alpha 4 integrin binding to fibronectin involves an leucine-aspartic acid-valine (LDV) motif in the HepII/IIICS region of fibronectin (CS-1 peptide), and homologous sequences are important in binding to VCAM-1 and MAdCAM-1. Three conserved LDV motifs occur in the extracellular sequence of alpha 4. A synthetic LDV-containing alpha 4-derived oligopeptide supports alpha 4-integrin-dependent lymphocyte adhesion and blocks binding to the 34-kD alpha 4 chain fragment. Our results suggest that alpha 4 beta 7 and alpha 4 beta 1 integrins may be able to bind to the alpha 4 subunit on adjacent cells, providing a novel mechanism for alpha 4 integrin-mediated and activation-regulated lymphocyte interactions during immune responses.

Effects of mutagens on the immunogenicity of murine tumor cells: immunological and biochemical evidence for altered cell surface antigens.

Eb lymphoma cells were subjected to treatment in vitro with the alkylating mutagen N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and then cloned by limiting dilution. When tested in vivo for tumorigenicity in groups of syngeneic DBA/2 mice, 6 from 18 clones were found to be strongly reduced (tum- phenotype). The other clones showed only moderate or no change in tumorigenicity compared to the untreated control. All clones were able to grow in 400-rad-irradiated mice. Mice in which MNNG clones had regressed were able to generate tumor-specific cytolytic T-lymphocytes in vitro. Limiting dilution analysis indicated that 3 of 4 MNNG clones analyzed in detail displayed additional antigenic determinants that were detected by cytolytic T-lymphocytes. These data thus provided evidence for increased immunogenicity of some of the MNNG clones. Membrane proteins of MNNG clones and original Eb cells were compared biochemically after metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine, TX114 solubilization, and electrophoretic separation. Two-dimensional gel maps revealed a general quantitative decrease in the expression of membrane proteins in MNNG clones. In addition, several proteins were only found in MNNG clones but not in untreated cells. Two membrane proteins of molecular weight 22,000 and 38,000 were greatly increased in expression in all MNNG clones but could be detected at a low level in the original Eb cells. MNNG is known to be a strong mutagenic agent, but it can also interfere with DNA methylation and cause transcriptional activation of genes. We suggest that amplified cell surface structures may be the consequence of such transcriptional activation and could be involved in altered immunogenicity.

Dynamic expression changes in vivo of adhesion and costimulatory molecules determine load and pattern of lymphoma liver metastasis.

Although intradermal primary tumor growth and spontaneous liver metastasis of ESbL-lacZ lymphoma in syngeneic DBA/2 mice are progressive and malignant, they are characterized by a transient plateau period with a constant tumor diameter and a low number of metastasized cells in the liver. This period, which was shown to be immune dependent, was followed by a second expansion phase characterized by a preferential localization of tumor cells in the periportal areas of liver lobules (mosaic phenotype). To elucidate possible mechanisms leading to the plateau period as well as for the mosaic-like metastasis pattern, we investigated, using flow cytometry analysis, alterations in costimulatory and adhesion molecule expression in liver sinusoidal cells as well as in tumor cells isolated directly ex vivo throughout the kinetics of metastasis. In tumor and sinusoidal cells, we found up-regulation in the expression of MHC class II and B7 molecules during the plateau period. These molecules, which facilitate cell-mediated immune responses, were again down-regulated during the final exponential tumor growth and metastasis. In the final expansion phase, in which the mosaic phenotype of liver metastasis is seen, we detected a significant increase of leukocyte function-associated antigen-1/intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression in both tumor and sinusoidal cells, suggesting tumor cell-sinusoidal cell interactions. vascular cell adhesion molecule-1/very late activated antigen-4 did not show any modification during the whole metastatic process. In vivo application of monoclonal antibodies directed to leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 appeared to block the spread of metastasis, while no effect was seen with monoclonal antibodies directed to vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and very late activated antigen-4. This study reveals in situ expression changes of cell surface molecules in tumor and host cells during metastasis. The changes seen during the plateau phase and during the second expansion phase differ, suggesting associations with mechanisms of immune control and tumor immune evasion, respectively.

A clinically relevant HIV-1 subunit vaccine protects rhesus macaques from in vivo passaged simian-human immunodeficiency virus infection.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether immunization with recombinant HIV-1 envelope protein derived from a clinical isolate could protect macaques from infection with an in vivo passaged chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV). DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 16 animals were studied from which three groups of four animals were immunized with vaccine formulations of the CC-chemokine receptor-5-binding recombinant gp120 of HIV-1W6.1D. Four weeks after the last immunization, all 16 animals were intravenously challenged with in vivo passaged SHIV derived from the same HIV-1 group B clinical isolate (W6.1D) as the vaccines. RESULTS: Vaccine protection from infection was demonstrated in 10 out of 12 macaques immunized with recombinant gp120. Complete protection from infection was achieved with all of the animals that received the SBAS2-W6.1D formulation, a potent inducer of both T-cell and humoral immune responses. Partial protection was achieved with SBAS1-W6.1D, a formulation based on immunomodulators known to induce T-cell responses in humans. In vaccinated animals that were infected, virus load was reduced and infection was delayed. CONCLUSIONS: In a relatively large number of primates, vaccine efficacy was demonstrated with a clinically relevant HIV-1 vaccine. These results reveal that it is possible to induce sterilizing immunity sufficient to protect from infection with SHIV which was passaged multiple times in vivo. Our findings have implications for current HIV-1 clinical vaccine trials and ongoing efforts to develop safe prophylactic AIDS vaccines.

Synthetic biomimetic supra molecular Biovector (SMBV) particles for nasal vaccine delivery.

For the optimal delivery of antigens to mucosal tissues, especially as nasal sprays, protein antigen alone is often not sufficient. A clear need for nasal delivery systems has therefore evolved, especially for Influenza A vaccines. Such technologies will be even more essential for new modern vaccines based on recombinant antigens. Here we describe synthetic biomimetic supra molecular Biovector (SMBV) which have proven in preclinical and clinical evaluation to be suitable candidates for the delivery of nasal vaccines. They also demonstrate the potential to work with multiple antigens and furthermore allow combination with adjuvants. These Biovectors can associate with internal or lipid layer membrane proteins and peptides due to their charged polysaccharide core. The mimicry with viruses is also provided through their size of 60-80 nm, which allows sterilization by filtration. This makes them an ideal tool for the development of modern nasal vaccines, as they have shown to be able to induce the desired types of humoral immunity (serosal and mucosal immunity, IgA and IgG antibodies) as well as cellular immunity (CD4 and CD8 responses).

Synergistic role of type I interferons in the induction of protective cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Differentiation of cytolytic T cells can be supported by type I and type II interferons (IFN). To characterize the role of type I interferons further we tested the role of recombinant IFN-alpha and IFN-beta on the induction of a weak immune response, against a low immunogenic tumor, which has been shown to be increased by IFN. Both type I interferons IFN-alpha and IFN-beta were able to support the differentiation of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). In case of IFN-alpha no correlation with the antiviral activity could be seen by comparison of IFN-alpha1 and IFN-alpha4. The maximal in vitro effects were achieved with very low concentrations in the range of 1-100 IU/ml. IFN-alpha showed the strongest effects, if added in the early phase of the mixed leukocyte culture, whereas IFN-beta was most effective when given at the last day the culture. In combination, both IFNs gave additional/synergistic effects, whereby addition of IFN-alpha at day 0 and IFN-beta at day 4 led to maximal specific CTL responses. In vivo augmentation of the anti-tumor immune response by both types of IFNs supported the in vitro findings and also the synergistic effect of both types of IFNs could be demonstrated. Therefore we propose that IFN-alpha is relevant in the induction of CTL responses, i.e., the conversion of precursor T cell into mature cells and growth promotion whereby IFN-beta might trigger the lytic machinery of the cells and promote differentiation. This synergistic efficacy is also operative in tumor rejection.

Proteomic prediction of disease outcome in cancer : clinical framework and current status.

Better than gene sequencing or quantitative amplification, proteomics tools allow the study of tumor phenotype. Indeed, most current prognostic tests in cancer (carcinoembryonary antigen [CEA], prostate-specific antigen [PSA], CA 19-1, CA 125, alpha-fetoprotein [AFP], etc.) are based on the detection and quantification of single proteins in body fluids. However, a common characteristic of these tests is their relatively low predictive value, so that they are usually complemented with other procedures such as biopsy and/or endoscopy. Recently, improved analytical and bioinformatics tools have driven the attention on pattern recognition approaches rather then single-marker tests for prognostic forecasting. It is expected that predicting metastasization on the basis of tumoral protein patterns will soon be a reality. However, currently available technologies either limit the number of proteins that can be analyzed simultaneously or they are expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. Moreover, the tools adapted for expression proteomics might not be the same as those for prognostic studies that require investigation of protein function over time. We believe that clinical proteomics research designed within a precise clinical and pathology framework should be strongly supported, since many prognostic factors are determined not by the tumor itself, but by the patient, the treatment and the environment.

Immunological and molecular characterization of an aggressive murine lymphoma variant: modulation in vitro and in vivo.

The highly metastatic murine ESb-L lymphoma was analyzed with respect to its possible origin and phenotype modulation. By determining the methylation status of the CD8 gene an early thymic origin of the ESb-L lymphoma cells is suggested. It revealed that the precursors of ESb-L cells had at least one CD8 allele expressed during their development. ESb-L tumor cells were found to express ICAM-1, ICAM-2, VLA-4 and Mel14 as adhesion molecules and homing receptors and CD25, CD69 and CD124 (HSA) as T-cell related activation markers. PCR analysis revealed that ESb-L tumor cells express a Th2-like cytokine pattern with mRNAs for IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-13, but not for IL-2 and IFNgamma. In addition mRNA for TNFalpha, LT, IFNalpha and the chemokines MIP1alpha and MIP1beta was found. The expression of the adhesion molecules ICAM-1, ICAM-2, VLA-4 and of the T-cell activation marker CD25 on ESb-L tumor cells could be upregulated by incubating the cells with 10 ng/ml TNFalpha. For CD25 this effect was confirmed also at the mRNA level. Using the lacZ transduced T-cell lymphoma ESb-L-CI we were able to re-isolate live tumor cells from the primary site or from a metastasized liver and to investigate their phenotype ex vivo. MIP1alpha mRNA expression was strongly reduced in ex vivo isolated tumor cells as compared to in vitro grown cells indicating the modulatory role of the tumor microenvironment. The presented data suggest possible roles of TNFalpha and/or other microenvironmental factors modulating the expression of molecules involved in cell migration and adhesion thereby influencing cancer metastasis.

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of pathogen-associated molecular patterns for cancer immunotherapy.

The delivery of stimulatory signals to dendritic cells (DCs) in the tumor microenvironment could be an effective means to break tumor-induced tolerance. The work presented here evaluates the immunostimulatory properties of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), microbial molecules which bind Toll-like receptors and deliver activating signals to immune cells, when expressed in tumor cells using adenoviral (Ad) vectors. In vitro, transduction of A549 tumor cells with Ad vectors expressing either flagellin from Listeria monocytogenes or P40 protein from Klebsiella pneumoniae induced the maturation of human monocyte-derived DCs in co-cultures. In mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLRs), Ad-flagellin and Ad-P40 transduction of tumor cells stimulated lymphocyte proliferation and the secretion of IFN-gamma. In vivo, these vectors were used either as stand-alone immunoadjuvants injected intratumorally or as vaccine adjuvants combined with a tumor antigen-expressing vector. When Ad-PAMPs were administered intratumorally to mice bearing subcutaneous syngeneic B16F0-CAR (cocksackie-adenovirus receptor) melanomas, tumor progression was transiently inhibited by Ad-P40. In a therapeutic vaccine setting, the combination of Ad-MUC1 and Ad-PAMP vectors injected subcutaneously delayed the growth of implanted RenCa-MUC1 tumors and improved tumor rejection when compared with vaccination with Ad-MUC1 alone. These results suggest that Ad-PAMPs could be effective immunoadjuvants for cancer immunotherapy.

Adhesion versus coreceptor function of CD4 and CD8: role of the cytoplasmic tail in coreceptor activity.

CD4 and CD8 play an important role in T-cell recognition and activation; however, their mechanisms of action are not well understood. We compare the effects of expressing CD4 and CD8 alpha either individually or together in a class II-restricted T-cell hybridoma. We also compare the effects of expressing truncated forms of CD4 or CD8 alpha that do not have a cytoplasmic tail and thus do not associate with the T-cell-specific tyrosine kinase p56lck, which has been implicated in T-cell activation. We demonstrate that, although CD4 and CD8 alpha can specifically enhance interleukin 2 secretion, maximal potentiation occurs with expression of CD4, which, unlike CD8, can bind to the same major histocompatibility complex protein as the T-cell receptor. Our data further indicate that the cytoplasmic tail and/or the associated p56lck are primarily significant for interleukin 2 secretion by the hybridomas we have examined when CD4 or CD8 can bind to the same major histocompatibility complex ligand as the T-cell receptor.

Immunoresistant metastatic tumor variants can re-express their tumor antigen after treatment with DNA methylation-inhibiting agents.

Immuno-escaping variants which arise during metastasis of ESb lymphoma cells in syngeneic DBA/2 mice have been shown to exhibit selective resistance to lysis by ESb-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). The immuno-resistant variants present no changes in the expression of H-2Kd molecules which appear to be the restricting elements for ESb-specific CTL. We now show that treatment of clonal immuno-resistant ESb variant cells with MNNG or 5'azacytidine can restore the sensitivity to tumor-specific CTL lysis in a high percentage of cloned progenitor cells. The acquisition of susceptibility to lysis by these clones is most likely due to re-expression of ESb-type tumor antigens because such cells regain the capacity to compete with original 51Cr-labelled ESb cells for lysis by ESb-specific CTL, and regain the capacity to induce ESb-specific CTL in vivo. Our data suggest that the immuno-resistant variants are not cellular mutants but rather gene regulatory variants. This could explain: their high frequency of occurrence during metastasis; the relative stability of the variant phenotype; and the reversibility observed after the use of DNA-demethylating and gene-activating drugs like 5'-azacytidine or MNNG.

New antigens presented on tumor cells can cause immune rejection without influencing the frequency of tumor-specific cytolytic T cells.

The specific immune response against syngeneic tumors by T cells is dependent on the existence of tumor-associated transplantation antigens (TATA). In the case of the chemically induced DBA/2-derived lymphoma Eb and its highly metastatic variant ESb the immunogenicity of these antigens is not sufficient to prevent tumor growth. Therefore we tested in two systems the influence of additional antigens as possible helper determinants for the generation of tumor-specific immune responses. In the Eb tumor system additional antigens were induced by mutagenization. The frequency of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in response to mutagenized Eb cells was higher than that in response to untreated Eb cells. Fine specificity analysis revealed there there was no increase in the CTL response against the original TATA, but an activation of additional CTL clones responding to mutagen-induced antigens. In the ESb tumor system we tested the effect of additional recognition of minor histocompatibility antigens on the frequency of TATA-specific CTL. Transplantation of ESb tumor cells into B10.D2 mice, which are H-2-identical but differ in minor antigens, results in strong tumor rejection responses. In a limiting dilution mixed-leukocyte-tumor microculture system it was found that the minor antigens are recognized at the clonal level as independent antigens. The overall frequency of anti-tumor CTL in ESb-immunized B10.D2 mice was about 1/3000. Among these, the frequency of TATA-specific CTL was 1/16,709 and thus not significantly different from that of syngeneic DBA/2 mice. Thus neither minor antigens nor mutagen-induced antigens acted in the Eb/ESb tumor system as helper determinants and did not increase the frequency of tumor-specific CTLs.

An immunological role for the CD8 beta-chain.

Mature T cells can be functionally divided into two categories distinguished by surface expression of either CD4 or CD8, which in turn corresponds to restriction by and binding to class II or class I major histocompatibility complex proteins, respectively. CD8 can be expressed as a homodimer of the alpha-chain, or as a heterodimer of alpha- and beta-chains on human and mouse T cells, although most peripheral T cells seem to express CD8 alpha beta heterodimers exclusively (reviewed in ref. 9). Functional characterization of CD8 has focused primarily on the effect of the alpha-chain, which enhances or reconstitutes T-cell responses in homodimeric form and may play a specific role in thymic selection. In contrast, no role has been ascribed to CD8 beta or alpha beta heterodimers specifically. Here we show that CD8 alpha beta transfectants produce more interleukin-2 than CD8 alpha transfectants in response to specific stimuli. Increased interleukin-2 is also observed in cells expressing hybrid CD8 beta-alpha molecules (extracellular CD8 beta plus CD8 alpha transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions) on their surface. These results indicate that external portions of CD8 beta could be critical and that they may act independently of CD8 alpha in mediating their augmentation effect.

Modification of tumor cells by a low dose of Newcastle disease virus. II. Augmented tumor-specific T cell response as a result of CD4+ and CD8+ immune T cell cooperation.

Augmented tumor-specific T cell responses were observed against the high metastatic murine lymphoma variant ESb when using as immunogen ESb tumor cells that had been modified by infection with a low dose of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Such virus-modified inactivated tumor cells (ESb-NDV) were potent tumor vaccines when applied postoperatively for active specific immunotherapy of ESb metastases. We demonstrate here that immune spleen cells from mice immunized with ESb-NDV contain enhanced immune capacity in both the CD4+, CD8- and the CD4-, CD8+ T cell compartments to mount a secondary-tumor-specific cytotoxic T cell response in comparison with immune cells from mice immunized with ESb. ESb-NDV immune CD4+, CD8- helper T cells also produced more interleukin 2 after antigen stimulation than the corresponding ESb immune cells. There was no participation of either CD4+ or CD8+ virus-specific cells in the augmented response. The specificity of the T cells for the tumor-associated antigen remained unchanged. Thus, there is the paradox that the virus-mediated augmentation of the tumor-specific T cell response in this system involves increased T helper activity but does not involve the recognition of viral epitopes as potential new helper determinants.

Modification of tumor cells by a low dose of Newcastle disease virus. Augmentation of the tumor-specific T cell response in the absence of an anti-viral response.

The present study elucidates the mechanism whereby viral xenogenization of highly metastatic ESb lymphoid tumor cells increases tumor immunogenicity and syngeneic tumor-specific T cell responses in comparison to nonmodified tumor cells. It was found that the frequency of cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for the Esb tumor-associated transplantation antigen (TATA) and the cytotoxic anti-tumor activity in bulk cultures of immune spleen cells were significantly increased (by factor 3 and 25, respectively) when using virus-modified tumor cells. An amplified response was observed both in vivo and in vitro which might explain the demonstrated effectiveness of this approach for postoperative immunotherapy of ESb metastases. For the stimulation of tumor-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) the ESb tumor cells which are highly metastatic were infected with an avirulent strain of the paramyxovirus Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV). Infection of ESb cells with low amounts of NDV was sufficient to lead to an increase in cytolytic activity of tumor-specific CTL after sensitization in vivo and restimulation in vitro. In a sensitive limiting dilution mixed leukocyte-tumor cell microculture system the direct effect of viral modification on the frequency and specificity of CTL was investigated. The number of ESb-specific CTL per spleen could be raised from about 3300 (without modification) to 9100 by both in vivo and in vitro application of ESb-NDV. One application of ESb-NDV (in vivo or in vitro) increased the number of CTL to 4900 and 4600, respectively. In split-type experiments it could be shown at the clonal level that viral modification did not alter the specificity of ESb-specific CTL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Scattered micrometastases visualized at the single-cell level: detection and re-isolation of lacZ-labeled metastasized lymphoma cells.

To study metastasis at the single-cell level we transduced highly metastatic ESb lymphoma cells with a retroviral expression vector containing the lacZ (bacterial beta-galactosidase) gene. This allowed single ESb-lacZ tumor cells to be detected in infiltrated target organs by means of X-Gal staining. Despite expression of the lacZ gene, the tumor cells were still tumorigenic, highly metastatic, unchanged in phenotype and therefore comparable to parental ESb cells. After spontaneous metastasis, whole-organ staining revealed metastatic foci at the surface of the liver. In histological liver sections, metastatic clusters and single dispersed tumor cells could be detected. In contrast to whole-organ staining, histological examination revealed scattered distribution of tumor cells throughout the organ, which was not evident with parental ESb cells. In addition, clusters with diffuse or dense (focal) appearance were found, in correlation with the whole-organ staining. Expression of the foreign lacZ gene allowed the metastatic spread of tumor cells to liver and spleen to be quantified approximately by FACS analysis. Furthermore, it was shown that the newly expressed beta-gal was expressed not only intercellularly but also at the cell surface. There it could be recognized by MAbs and cytotoxic T-cells (CTL). beta-gal did not affect CTL recognition of the ESb tumor-associated antigen. In conclusion, lacZ could be used as a genetic marker for a highly metastatic lymphoma, to define scattered metastatic spread in the liver at the single-cell level and to quantify the tumor load by FACS analysis.

Superiority of the ear pinna over a subcutaneous tumour inoculation site for induction of a Th1-type cytokine response.

This study examines whether a correlation may be found between Th1- or Th2-type cytokine responses and resistance or susceptibility to tumour growth. Cytokine profiles were investigated in a well-defined mouse tumour model in which the injection site and the genetic background determine the phenotype of either tumour resistance or tumour susceptibility. DBA/2-derived ESb lymphoma variant cells with high metastatic capacity were inoculated into syngeneic mice either s.c., where they grow and metastasize, or into the ear pinna (i.e.), where they do not grow because of induction of protective immunity. Alternatively, the tumour cells were injected s.c. or i.e. into allogeneic B10.D2 mice, which are resistant to the tumour although they are identical at the MHC locus. Between 1 and 10 days after tumour cell injection the spleen-derived mRNA was tested for cytokine gene expression or the spleen cells were analysed by FACScan for T cell activation. The strongest cytokine response was observed in i.e. inoculated B10.D2 mice. This was characterized by an early (days 2-3) peak of interferon gamma (INF-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-2 receptor alpha (IL-2Ralpha) and IL-4. The cytokine mRNA response of i.e. inoculated DBA/2 mice was quite similar except that no IFN-gamma could be detected. In s.c. inoculated B10.D2 mice, the IL-2, IL-2Ralpha and IFN-gamma responses were weaker than after i.e. injection while the IL-4 response was comparable. The most striking difference between these cytokine profiles from tumour-resistant mice and those of s.c. inoculated tumour-susceptible DBA/ 2 mice was a delay in the latter in the IL-2, IL-2Ralpha and IFN-gamma responses and the observation that the IL-4 response was not down-regulated. The persisting IL-4 response could down-regulate a Th1-type response and thereby explain tumour susceptibility as a consequence of host conditioning.

Superiority of the ear pinna over muscle tissue as site for DNA vaccination.

Three different vaccination sites were compared for efficiency of immunization with naked DNA. Using the bacterial lacZ gene as a model, all three sites of the mouse (skeletal muscle, dermis of abdominal skin or of the ear pinna) could express the gene product beta-gal but varied in expression time with muscle tissue showing the longest expression. Expression time, however, did not correlate with immune response intensity. The ear pinna was by far the most effective and muscle the least effective priming site for specific humoral and cytotoxic T cell-mediated immune responses. Following intra-pinna DNA inoculation, beta-gal expressing cells were detectable around the injection site and in the major draining lymph node. Efficiency of immunization was also dependent on the promoter and expression vector used. The cytomegalus virus promoter driven pCMV beta vector was superior to the Moloney murine leukemia virus LTR driven BAG vector. LacZ DNA immunization was also compared with cell-based vaccination with lacZ-transfected tumor cells, in which case again the pinna was the best site for inducing strong immune responses. Tumor-specific T cell responses could also be well induced in the pinna, leading to cytotoxic T lymphocyte induction and protective antitumor immunity. Thus, the pinna was found to be a privileged site for induction of antitumor responses and for genetic immunization, an important finding of immediate practical and potential future clinical implications.