Immunotherapy of B-16 melanoma with peptidoglycan monomer.

B-16 melanoma-bearing mice received intravenously or intratumorally one or multiple injections of peptidoglycan monomer (PGM) derived from Brevibacterium divaricatum cell wall. Multiple injections of this non-toxic, water-soluble, low-molecular-weight peptidoglycan reduced the growth rate of tumor nodule on the leg, but did not significantly prolong the survival of tumor-bearing mice. One milligram of PGM administered 3 or 7 days after tumor inoculation inhibited formation of pulmonary metastases, induced either by intravenous injection of malignant cells or seeded spontaneously from tumor nodules in the legs before amputation. The inhibition reached about 50% of control values in saline-treated mice. Addition of PGM to in vitro cultures of B-16 melanoma cells did not change their growth rate. The phagocytic activity in the lungs, but not in the spleen and liver, was significantly augmented 3 and 7 days after treatment with PGM. These data indicate that the antimetastatic potency of PGM is probably due to activation of local (pulmonary) macrophages and not due to direct cytotoxic effects on B-16 melanoma cells or to activation of systemic antineoplastic defence.