title: Endostatin gene therapy enhances the efficacy of IL-2 in suppressing metastatic renal cell carcinoma in mice.
abstract: We investigated whether the administration of IL-2 combined with endostatin gene therapy was able to produce additive or even synergistic immunomodulatory activity in a mouse model of metastatic renal carcinoma. Renca cells were injected into the tail vein of BALB/c mice. After 24 h, the animals were randomly divided into four groups (5 mice/group). One group of mice was the control, the second group received treatment with 100,000 UI of Recombinant IL-2 (Proleukin, Chiron) twice a day, 1 day per week during 2 weeks (IL-2), the third group received treatment with a subcutaneous inoculation of 3.6 x 10(6) endostatin-producing cells, and the fourth group received both therapies (IL-2 + ES). Mice were treated for 2 weeks. In the survival studies, 10 mice/group daily, mice were monitored daily until they died. The presence of metastases led to a twofold increase in endostatin levels. Subcutaneous inoculation of NIH/3T3-LendSN cells resulted in a 2.75 and 2.78-fold increase in endostatin levels in the ES and IL-2 + ES group, respectively. At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease in lung wet weight, lung nodules area, and microvascular area (MVA) in all treated groups compared with the control group (P < 0.001). The significant difference in lung wet weight and lung nodules area between groups IL-2 and IL-2 + ES revealed a synergistic antitumor effect of the combined treatment (P < 0.05). The IL-2 + ES therapy Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the probability of survival was significantly higher for mice treated with the combined therapy (log-rank test, P = 0.0028). Conjugated therapy caused an increase in the infiltration of CD4, CD8 and CD49b lymphocytes. An increase in the amount of CD8 cells (P < 0.01) was observed when animals received both ES and IL-2, suggesting an additive effect of ES over IL-2 treatment. A synergistic effect of ES on the infiltration of CD4 (P < 0.001) and CD49b cells (P < 0.01) was also observed over the effect of IL-2. Here, we show that ES led to an increase in CD4 T helper cells as well as cytotoxic lymphocytes, such as NK cells and CD8 cells, within tumors of IL-2 treated mice. This means that ES plays a role in supporting the actions of T cells.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Medicine Department, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia Gomes de Góes
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Karen Cristina Barbosa
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chammas
authors.forename: Jean Pierre Schatzmann
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Peron
authors.forename: Luiz Vicente
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Nestor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schor
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bellini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D043169:Endostatins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D043169:Endostatins; D007376:Interleukin-2