Manipulation of metastasis and tumour growth by transfection with histocompatibility class I genes.

Approximately 50% of fibrosarcomas induced with methylcholanthrene A were found to be defective in H-2 expression. In tumours which lack H-2K antigens, H-2 gene transfection was used to restore H-2K expression. The de novo expression of H-2K reduced tumorigenicity and abolished the formation of metastases in syngeneic mice. Expression of H-2K seems to render the tumour cells immunogenic and leads to effective recognition of the tumour cells by the host immune system.