Production by human squamous cell carcinoma of a factor inducing activation and proliferation of immune cells

To examine supernatants (SNs) of human squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cell lines for soluble tumor-derived factors capable of inducing activation and proliferation of human immune cells.

The SN of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cell line PCI-50 was cultured in serum-free medium and tested for the ability to induce expression of activation antigens, proliferation, cytotoxicity against tumor cell targets and cytokine production by purified human natural killer (NK) and CD4+ T cells.

Supernatant of PCI-50 promoted expression of the following activation markers on NK and T cells: CD25 (interleukin-2R-alpha), HLA-DR (major histocompatibility complex class II), CD54 (ICAM-1), CD71 (transferrin receptor), and CD69 (activation-inducing molecule). In addition, SN induced and significantly sustained (P < .01) proliferation of human unseparated peripheral blood lymphocytes and NK or T cells in culture. Purified human NK or T cells cultured in the presence of the SN and IL-2 (120 IU/mL) had significantly higher antitumor cytotoxicity than that mediated by NK or T cells cultured in AIM-V medium and IL-2. The SN induced cytokine (interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6) production in purified NK or T cells. When the SN was fractionated by molecular weight-based filtration into fractions greater and less than 30 kd, the growth- and cytotoxicity-promoting activities were consistently detectable in the greater than 30-kd fraction.

Culture SN of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cell lines contain a soluble factor(s) capable of activating NK and CD4+ T cells and of promoting growth and antitumor cytotoxicity of these lymphocyte subsets in vitro.