Natural killer cells produce T cell-recruiting chemokines in response to antibody-coated tumor cells.

In the current report, we have examined the ability of natural killer (NK) cells to produce T cell-recruiting chemokines following dual stimulation with interleukin (IL)-2 or IL-12 and human breast cancer cells coated with an antitumor antibody (trastuzumab). NK cells stimulated in this manner secreted an array of T cell-recruiting chemotactic factors, including IL-8, macrophage-derived chemokine, macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP-1alpha), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), whereas stimulation of NK cells with either agent alone had minimal effect. Furthermore, these factors were functional for T-cell chemotaxis as culture supernatants derived from costimulated NK cells induced migration of both naïve and activated T cells in an in vitro chemotaxis assay. T-cell migration was significantly reduced when neutralizing antibodies to IL-8, MIP-1alpha, or RANTES were added to culture supernatants before their use in the chemotaxis assay. In addition, coadministration of trastuzumab-coated tumor cells and IL-12 to mice led to enhanced serum MIP-1alpha. As a clinical correlate, we examined the chemokine content of serum samples from breast cancer patients enrolled on a phase I trial of trastuzumab and IL-12, and found elevated levels of IL-8, RANTES, IFN-gamma inducible protein 10, monokine induced by IFN-gamma, and MIP-1alpha, specifically in those patients that experienced a clinical benefit. Sera from these patients exhibited the ability to direct T-cell migration in a chemotaxis assay, and neutralization of chemokines abrogated this effect. These data are the first to show chemokine production by NK cells, specifically in response to stimulation with antibody-coated tumor cells, and suggest a potential role for NK cell-derived chemokines in patients receiving therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.