Marking hypoxic cells for complement and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated lysis: using pimonidazole

Artificial antigens are created when 2-nitroimidazoles bind to hypoxic cells. These antigens have been used in the immunodetection of tumour hypoxia but they might also serve to stimulate immune lysis of hypoxic tumour cells by complement- and cell-mediated processes. In order to test this hypothesis, lymphocytes isolated from the spleens of C3H/HeN mice that had been immunised with pimonidazole-labelled 3152-PRO cells were subcultured and tested for their ability to lyse chromium-51 loaded, pimonidazole-labelled 3152-PRO cells in an in vitro assay. In a parallel study, commercially available, rabbit complement was tested for its ability to lyse pimonidazole-labelled V79-4 cells in the presence of monoclonal antibodies which recognise protein adducts of reductively activated pimonidazole. Complement-mediated cell lysis was measured by means of an MTT assay. Complement-mediated and cell-mediated lysis was observed at pimonidazole concentrations which, in themselves, do not produce cell killing.