title: Interferon-induced alterations in metastatic capacity, class-1 antigen expression and natural killer cell sensitivity of melanoma cells.
abstract: Pre-treatment of B16 melanoma cells with recombinant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) markedly increased their lung-colonising capacity following i.v. injection into syngeneic mice as compared with control cells. A similar enhancement was observed following the injection of treated cells into athymic nude mice but not in athymic mice carrying the beige mutation. Pre-treatment of syngeneic mice with anti-asialo GM1 antibody effectively abrogated any interferon-induced increase in experimental metastatic activity. The same IFN-gamma treatment significantly increased resistance of B16 cells to splenic natural killer (NK) cell activity as determined by in vitro assays. IFN-alpha/beta pre-treatment of B16 cells decreased sensitivity to NK-cell-mediated lysis to a lesser extent than IFN-gamma and had no detectable effect upon the subsequent metastatic activity of the tumor cells. Class-I antigen expression was altered by these IFN treatments, with IFN-gamma causing dramatic increases in expression of H-2Db antigen, in a pattern consistent with the possibility that increased H-2 antigen expression on B16 cells led to decreased NK-cell sensitivity which was reflected by an increase in experimental metastatic capacity.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D002460:Cell Line / Q000187:drug effects; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D007372:Interferons / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000556:secondary; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D006183:H-2 Antigens; D007372:Interferons