Killer cells induced by stimulation with allogeneic tumor cells and subsequent culture with recombinant interleukin-2.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes were cultured for 5 days with allogeneic tumor cells (allogeneic mixed lymphocyte/tumor cell culture), and subsequently cultured with recombinant interleukin-2 for 12 days. These cultured cells were found to be cytotoxic to autologous tumor cells. Results of two-color analysis using monoclonal antibodies to cell markers showed that more than 80% of their cultured cells were CD3+ cells, and CD4+ cells showed a higher distribution than CD8+ cells. However, CD8+ cells had a much higher killing activity with autologous tumor than did CD4+ cells, when estimated by an elimination study using monoclonal antibodies to T cell phenotypes and complement. The "cold-target" inhibition test showed that the cytotoxicity of these cells for autologous tumor cells was inhibited by unlabeled autologous tumor cells but not by unlabeled stimulator cells. Furthermore, about 40% of the cytotoxicity was suppressed by blocking of HLA class I antigen with a monoclonal antibody on autologous tumor cells. Thus, cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes to autologous tumor restricted by target cell HLA class I antigen is possibly induced by allogeneic tumor-stimulation.