title: In vitro immunomodulatory properties of gemcitabine alone and in combination with interferon-alpha.
abstract: In general, conventional chemotherapy is associated with significant toxicity leading to immunosuppression manifesting mainly in the lymphocyte depletion. This immunosuppression promotes tumor growth and elicits the tumor cell dissemination. However, chemotherapy can be immune stimulative especially in combination with an immunotherapy. In this work, we investigated in vitro effects of gemcitabine alone and in combination with interferon-alpha on splenocytes obtained from healthy and pancreatic carcinoma bearing mice. We showed that gemcitabine alone depletes the regulatory T cells in the splenocyte culture. Gemcitabine in combination with interferon-alpha demonstrated some immunomodulatory features, but these effects were interferon-alpha dependent. We concluded that combination of both drugs induces rather cumulative effects, supposing that these therapeutic could be applied together for a chemo-immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karakhanova
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brecht
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral, Transplantation, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nachtigall
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral, Transplantation, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral, Transplantation, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Munich, Germany. Electronic address: alexandr.bazhin@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Alexandr V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bazhin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D018122:B7-1 Antigen / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051940:B7-2 Antigen / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D018122:B7-1 Antigen; D051940:B7-2 Antigen; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000093542:Gemcitabine
keywords: Chemotherapy; Gemcitabine; Immunomodulation; Interferon-alpha; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma