title: Dendritomas formed by fusion of mature dendritic cells with allogenic human hepatocellular carcinoma cells activate autologous cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
abstract: Mature dendritic cells (DCs) have highly expressed CD1a, MHC class I, MHC class II, B7-1, B7-2 and ICAM-I molecules, all of which are essential for activation of naïve T cells. In this study, dendritomas were formed by fusion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) SMMC-7721 cells with autologous DCs in vitro. DCs were obtained from adherent monocytes cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4 and were matured in monocyte-conditioned media. Expression of MHC class II and HCC-specific antigen by these dendritomas were determined using a specific murine anti-HCC monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for HCC cell line SMMC-7721, and a murine anti-human HLA-DR mAb, and was also confirmed using bi-dimensional flow cytometry and immuno-histostaining. Dendritomas were co-cultured with autologous T cells, resulting in activation of T cell proliferation and priming of naïve T cells to induce MHC class I restricted lysis of HCC SMMC-7721 cells. The results imply that these dendritomas may have potential for use in HCC immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ray C F
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002460:Cell Line; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*