title: Enhanced metastases of a mouse carcinoma after in vitro treatment with murine interferon gamma.
abstract: We have studied the influence of interferons (IFNs) on the metastatic potential of mouse colon adenocarcinoma, COLON 26, cells. Pre-treatment of the cells in vitro for 24 hr with recombinant murine IFN-gamma (rMuIFN-gamma) significantly increased the number of lung tumour nodules when cells were injected i.v. into immunocompetent BALB/c mice and BALB/c nude mice. However, when MuIFN-gamma-pre-treated cells were injected into beige (NK-deficient) nude mice or anti-asialoGM 1 (asGM 1)-serum-treated BALB/c mice (NK-depleted) no enhancement of metastatic potential was seen. Pre-treatment of COLON 26 cells with recombinant human IFN-alpha A/D (Bg1 I), an IFN with equal activity on human and mouse cells, did not significantly enhance their subsequent metastases in immunocompetent or immunodeficient mice. In fact, there was a small but significant decrease in the number of tumour nodules in the lungs of beige nude and asGM 1-treated mice. The effects of rMuIFN-gamma on COLON 26 cells did not appear to be related to an alteration in MHC expression. COLON 26 cells constitutively express H-2D and H-2K antigens and both IFNs had equal enhancing (approx. 2-fold) activity on the expression of these antigens at the doses used in this experiment (10(3)U/ml). We conclude that pre-treatment with rMuIFN-gamma renders COLON 26 cells resistant to in vivo NK-cell lysis via a mechanism that does not involve changes in MHC expression.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D000818:Animals; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000276:immunology; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000150:complications; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000276:immunology; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000276:immunology; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation
chemical_list: D006028:Glycosphingolipids; D006183:H-2 Antigens; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside; C018835:asialo GM1 ganglioside; D007371:Interferon-gamma