[Recipient lymphopenia state enhances the expansion and anti-leukemia effect of leukemia specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the role of recipient lymphopenia state in the expansion and function of leukemia specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).


METHODS
C57BL/6 mice were induced to lymphopenia with 6 Gy total body irradiation. Spleen T cells or leukemia specific T cells from EGFP+ transgenic C57BL/6-EGFP mice were adoptively transferred by intravenous injection. The mice were challenged subcutaneously with 1 x 10(6) FBL3 leukemic cells at day 2 after irradiation. The peripheral WBC count, percentage of EGFP+ cells, subsets of T cells and tumor sizes were monitored.


RESULTS
Both of the spleen T cell and leukemia specific CTL proliferated efficiently with the percentage of EGFP+ cells of 28. 81% and 42.24%, respectively, after infused into lymphopenic recipients. However, spleen T cells had no anti-leukemia effect regardless of its expansion. In contrast, leukemia specific CTLs showed a more rapid and extensive expansion under the condition of lymphopenia and a enhanced anti-leukemia immunity.


CONCLUSIONS
Transfusion of leukemia specific CTLs under lymphopenia state could be a feasible strategy to expand leukemia specific CTLs and generate favorable anti-leukemia effect in vivo.
Lou
Jing-Wei
JW
Department of Hematology, Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical College, Shanghai, China.
Yang
Jian-Min
JM
Chen
Li
L
Jia
Xin-Yan
XY
Zhang
Wei-Ping
WP
Wang
Jian-Min
JM
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology*; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*