[An in vitro study of specific antitumor immunity induced by dendritic cells pulsed with tumor cell lysates from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate T cell-mediated antitumor effects of dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with tumor lysates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vitro.


METHODS
DCs isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HCC patients were cultured and proliferated in vitro by using recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (rhIL-4), and then were pulsed with autologous hepatoma cell lysates. The phenotypes of the DCs were assayed by flow cytometry. The concentration of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were measured in culture supernatants by ELISA. The ability of DCs pulsed with hepatoma cell lysates to stimulate proliferation of autologous T lymphocytes (CTL) was tested by thymidine incorporation method. The specific cytolytic activity of CTL was assessed by MTT method.


RESULTS
The hepatoma cell lysates pulsed DC vaccines led to up-regulation of CD1a, CD40, CD86 and HLA-DR. Concentrations of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were increased more in the hepatoma cell lysate pulsed DCs group than those in the unpulsed DCs group, the hepatoma cell lysate group and control group. The proliferation of T-cells was markedly enhanced in the hepatoma cell lysate pulsed DCs group than that in the others. The CTL stimulated by the hepatoma cell lysate pulsed DCs had much higher cytotoxicity to autologous hepatoma cells (killing rate: 81.72%+/-9.49%), as compared with HepG2 and HNE-1 tumor cells (killing rate: 49.37%+/-11.21% and 17.14%+/-5.65%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The hepatoma cell lysate pulsed DC vaccines can induce an effective and specific anti-hepatoma effect.
Gao
Jian
J
Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Chongqing University of Medical Sciences, Chongqing 400010, China.
Chen
Min
M
Peng
Min-li
ML
Ren
Hong
H
D000328:Adult; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins