Cells treated with TAP-2 antisense oligonucleotides are potent antigen-presenting cells in vitro and in vivo

Treatment of RMA and EL4 cells or freshly isolated splenocytes with antisense (AS) oligonucleotides directed against the TAP-2 gene recreates the phenotype seen in cells that are genetically deficient in TAP function. Cells incubated with AS oligonucleotides exhibit reduced MHC class I expression on the cell surface, which can be increased by incubating the oligonucleotide-treated cells at 28 degrees C or by adding MHC haplotype-matched peptides to the culture medium. RMA cells or splenocytes treated with AS oligonucleotides and incubated with peptide were highly effective in generating primary CTL responses in vitro. The bulk of the AS oligonucleotide-responsive and CTL-inducing cells resided in the adherent fraction of splenocytes. Moreover, TAP-2 AS oligonucleotide-treated adherent splenocytes pulsed with OVA peptide elicited potent OVA-specific CTL responses in vivo and provided effective protection from challenge with tumor cells expressing the corresponding Ag. AS oligonucleotide technology provides a simple approach to develop broadly applicable methods for generating potent APC to study TAP function in normal cells and to identify other gene products involved in MHC class I presentation.