Tumor-associated antigenic differences between the primary and the descendant metastatic tumor cell populations.

The existence of antigenic differences between cell populations in the local growth of the 3LL tumor (L-3LL) and its lung metastases (M-3LL) was studied. Normal C57BL/6 spleen cells sensitized in vitro for 5 days against L-3LL monolayers lysed preferentially L-3LL targets but not M-3LL tumor cell targets. Conversely, anti-M-366-sensitized lymphocytes killed M-3LL targets more efficiently than they killed L-3LL targets. Furthermore, spleen cells from mice bearing subcutaneous L-3LL tumors were significantly more cytotoxic to L-3LL targets than to M-3LL targets and vice versa. M-3LL cells were found also to be more resistant in vitro and in vivo to natural killer cells than were L-3LL tumor cells. M-3LL cells were more resistant than L-3LL cells to hybrid resistant mechanisms when they were inoculated into F1 (C3Heb x C57BL/6) or F1 (BALB/c x C57BL/6) mice. Anti-M-3LL lymphocytes generated both in vitro and in vivo, but not anti-L-3LL lymphocytes, admixed with L-3LL or M-3LL tumor cells and inoculated into footpads of syngeneic recipients suppressed the development of lung metastases. These results suggest that metastatic cells are indeed phenotypic variants of the local growing tumor cell populations. Presumably, these variants are selected for their capacity to home to and grow in the lungs, and for their resistance to specific immune effects initially evoked against the local tumor and to nonspecific natural killer cells. These data may prove to be of importance with respect to any rational approach to the problem of immunotherapy.