Increased in vitro and in vivo tumoricidal activity of a macrophage cell line genetically engineered to express IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-6, or TNF-alpha.

Genetically engineered monocytes and macrophages may have potential as effector cells for the adoptive immunotherapy of cancer. As a first step, we have transfected the genes encoding either mouse interferon (IFN)-gamma, human interleukin (IL)-6, mouse IL-4, or mouse tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha into the mouse macrophage cell line, J774A.1 cells using retroviral vectors. In vitro activation of J774A.1 cells by gene modification was assessed by morphological changes, proliferative activity was determined by [3H]-TdR uptake, and cytolytic activity was assessed using an 18-hour chromium-51 (51Cr) release assay. In vivo tumoricidal activity was studied by means of local adoptive immunotherapy using intratumoral injection of transfected effector cells. IFN-gamma gene-transfected J774A.1 [J7(IFN-gamma)] cells developed filamentous processes, increased doubling times, and enhanced tumoricidal activity against three tumor cell lines: the TNF-sensitive fibrosarcoma line WEHI 164 and the TNF-alpha-resistant cell lines B16 melanoma and C1300 neuroblastoma. IL-6-, TNF-alpha-, and IL-4-gene-transfected J774A.1 cells also had augmented tumoricidal activity but did not display any changes in morphology or growth. Cytolytic activity was markedly reduced after the addition of anti-TNF-alpha antibodies. Cytolytic J7(IFN-gamma) cells showed upregulated expression of TNF-alpha messenger RNA. After intratumoral injection of J7(IL-4) and J7(IFN-gamma) cell mixtures, 50% of established B16 melanomas were rejected by C57BL/6 mice, thereby demonstrating synergistic killing. Further studies on gene-transfected macrophages should better define their potential usefulness in tumor immunotherapy.