Accumulation of immunosuppressive CD11b+ myeloid cells correlates with the failure to prevent tumor growth in the anterior chamber of the eye.

The purpose of these studies is to determine why an immunogenic tumor grows unchecked in the anterior chamber (a.c.) of the eye. The OVA-expressing EL4 tumor, E.G7-OVA, was injected into the a.c. or skin of immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Tumor growth and tumor-specific immune responses were monitored. Ocular tumor-infiltrating leukocytes were characterized phenotypically and functionally. Growth of E.G7-OVA was inhibited when limiting numbers of cells were injected in the skin but not in the a.c. of C57BL/6 mice, although both routes primed OVA-specific immune responses, which prevented the growth of a subsequent injection with E.G7-OVA in the skin or opposite eye. Tumor regression was OVA-specific because growth of the parental EL-4 tumor was not inhibited in primed mice. E.G7-OVA growth in the skin was not inhibited in immunodeficient Rag(-/-) or CD8 T cell-deficient mice, suggesting that CD8(+) CTLs mediate tumor elimination. CD8(+) T cell numbers were significantly increased in eyes of mice primed with E.G7-OVA, but few were detected in primary ocular tumors. Nevertheless, growth of E.G7-OVA was retarded in the a.c. of TCR-transgenic OT-I mice, and CD8(+) T cell numbers were increased within eyes, suggesting that tumor-specific CD8(+) CTLs migrated into and controlled primary ocular tumor growth. E.G7-OVA did not lose antigenicity or become immunosuppressive after 13 days of growth in the eye. However, CD11b(+) cells accumulated in primary ocular tumors and contained potent immunosuppressive activity when assayed in vitro. Thus, CD11b(+) cells that accumulate within the eye as tumors develop in the a.c. may contribute to immune evasion by primary ocular tumors by inhibiting CTLs within the eye.