Interleukin-2 activated lymphocytes (LAK cells) as potential tumor tracers.
The homing characteristics and infiltrative capacity of interleukin-2 activated human peripheral blood lymphocytes, the lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells, were studied. In vitro stimulated 111In-oxine labeled lymphocytes were injected into the hypogastric artery during hysterectomy, performed because of endometrial carcinoma. Scintigrams demonstrated clear homing of the lymphocytes into the area of the malignant tumor. No selective homing was detectable when labeled red blood cells were injected in a similar fashion. To analyze the infiltrative capacity of the activated lymphocytes, they were incubated in vitro with tumor spheroids grown from cultured glioma cell lines. As revealed by antibodies against the leukocyte common antigen and immunoperoxidase techniques, the activated lymphocytes infiltrated the three-dimensional tumor tissue slowly as a frontier. These results show that, in addition to their previously suggested potential role in cancer therapy, interleukin-2 activated lymphocytes may possibly also be useful as tumor tracers.
Timonen
T
T
Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Lehtovirta
P
P
Gripenberg
J
J
Sarlomo-Rikala
M
M
Jääskeläinen
J
J
Saksela
E
E
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015979:Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D015125:Oxyquinoline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C032950:indium oxine; D015125:Oxyquinoline