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The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 164: 3645-3651.
Copyright © 2000 by The American Association of Immunologists

Crucial Role of TNF-{alpha} in CD8 T Cell-Mediated Elimination of 3LL-A9 Lewis Lung Carcinoma Cells In Vivo1

Armelle Prévost-Blondel*, Evelyn Roth*, Felicia M. Rosenthal{dagger} and Hanspeter Pircher2,*

* Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Immunology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; and {dagger} Cell Genix Technologie Transfer, GmbH, Freiburg, Germany


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
The role of perforin, IFN-{gamma}, and TNF-{alpha} in anti-tumor CD8 T cell immunity was examined in a new tumor model using a CD8 T cell epitope (GP33) derived from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus as a tumor-associated Ag. In contrast with parental 3LL-A9 (A9) Lewis lung carcinoma cells that progressively grow in C57BL/6 mice, s.c. injection of GP33-transfected A9GP33 tumor cells induced a protective GP33-specific CD8 T cell response that led to complete tumor cell elimination. Tumor regression was dependent on perforin, IFN-{gamma}, or TNF-{alpha}, because A9GP33 tumors developed in mice deficient in one of these genes. A9GP33 tumors arising in perforin- and IFN-{gamma}-deficient mice represented GP33 Ag-loss variants, demonstrating that GP33-specific CD8 T cells from these mice were able to exert an Ag selection pressure. In contrast, tumor cells growing in TNF-{alpha} knock-out mice still expressed the tumor-associated GP33 peptide despite the presence of activated GP33-specific CD8 T cells. These findings provide evidence for a crucial role of TNF-{alpha} in A9 tumor cell elimination by CD8 T cells in vivo.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Successful tumor rejection may involve different kinds of effector cells, such as lymphocytes, NK cells, macrophages, and granulocytes. CD8 T cells recognize tumor-associated Ags (TAA)3 in the context of MHC class I molecules and play a major role in immune surveillance. They display cytotoxicity either by direct lysis of target cells and/or by the release of soluble cytokines. The effector molecules involved in direct CD8 T cell mediated killing are 1) perforin, which forms pores in the membrane of target cells, and 2) Fas ligand and TNF-{alpha}, which induce apoptosis in susceptible cells (1). The release of growth-suppressive soluble factors, such as TNF-{alpha} or IFN-{gamma}, is an alternative way by which CD8 T cells can control tumor growth.

Several murine tumor models have been established using genetically modified tumor cells that express defined antigenic CD8 T cell epitopes as a model of TAA (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Despite expression of the TAA introduced, all of these transfected tumor cells had growth kinetics similar to those of the parental tumor lines. This indicates that expression of CD8 T cell epitopes on tumor cells alone is not sufficient to elicit a protective anti-tumor immune response in general.

The H-2Kb binding peptides MUT1 and MUT2, derived from a mutated connexin 37 gap-junction protein, have been identified as tumor-specific Ags in 3LL Lewis lung carcinoma cells (10). These peptides serve as CD8 T cell epitopes and could also be used as vaccines to protect mice from spontaneous metastasis of 3LL-D122 tumors (11). Despite the expression of these MUT peptides, 3LL parental tumor cells grow in C57BL/6 (B6) mice when injected s.c. In the present study, we have examined the immune response against 3LL-A9 Lewis lung carcinoma cells transfected with a minigene encoding residues 33–41 (GP33 peptide) of the glycoprotein from the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). In contrast with parental tumor cells, GP33-transfected 3LL-A9GP33 tumor cells induced a protective tumor-specific CD8 T cell response in B6 mice. This new tumor model opens the possibility to examine the role of effector molecules in CD8 T cell-mediated tumor cell elimination in vivo.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Mice

C57BL/6 (B6) mice were obtained from Charles River (Sulzfeld, Germany). B6.gld and B6 mice deficient in ß2-microglobulin (ß2m) (12), I-A (13), perforin (14), IFN-{gamma} (15), and TNF-{alpha} (16) were obtained from H. Eibel (University Freiburg, Germany), The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME), T. Brocker (Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland), H. Hengartner (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland), M. Kopf (Basel Institute for Immunology), and H. Körner (University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany), respectively. TCR transgenic (tg) mice (line 318) specific for amino acids 33–41 (GP33 epitope) of the LCMV glycoprotein in association with H-2Db molecule have been described (17, 18). TCR tg mice deficient in perforin or IFN-{gamma} were generated by breeding with perforin- or IFN-{gamma}-deficient B6 mice. The generation of H8 tg mice expressing the LCMV GP33 epitope sequence under control of the H-2Kb promoter (H8 mice) (19) has been described. Mice were bred and kept in a conventional mouse house facility and were used for experiments 8–16 wk after birth.

Cell lines

3LL-A9 (A9) is an immunogenic and low metastatic cloned line derived from the 3LL carcinoma and was kindly provided by Lea Eisenbach (Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel) (20). A9GP33 cells were derived from parental A9 tumor cells by gene transfection. The LCMV GP33 minigene was generated as previously described (21). The resulting transfectants were cloned and screened for GP33 expression by CTL assays. The experiments reported in this study were performed with A9GP33 clone 3. Parental A9 cells were cultured in DMEM high glucose, supplemented with 10% FCS, glutamine, streptomycin, and penicillin (all from Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD). The A9GP33 tumor cells were kept in culture under G418 (800 µg/ml) (Life Technologies) selection. L929 fibroblast cells and B16.F10 melanoma cells were used as controls for testing TNF-{alpha}-mediated cytotoxicity.

Tumor cell inoculation

Mice were injected s.c. into the right flank with 107 A9 or A9GP33 tumor cells in 100 µl PBS. Mice were checked for the presence of a palpable tumor and tumor growth was measured with a caliper. Tumor size was calculated as the product of bisecting tumor diameters. Mice bearing a tumor with a diameter >15 mm were killed according to animal care regulations.

Virus

The LCMV-WE isolate was originally obtained from R. Zinkernagel (University Hospital Zurich). It was propagated on L929 fibroblast cells. Mice were infected i.v. with 200 pfu.

Immunohistochemistry

Tumor sections (5 µm) were cut on a cryostat microtome, air dried, fixed in acetone, and blocked with TBS containing 5% mouse serum. Anti-CD8-biotin, anti-CD4-biotin, and anti-CD11b-biotin (all from PharMingen, San Diego, CA) were used as primary mAb followed by avidin-conjugated alkaline phosphatase (StreptAB Complex/AP; DAKO, Hamburg, Germany) and alkaline phosphatase substrate kit I (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Sections were counterstained with Mayer’s hemalum.

Cytotoxicity assay

Cytolytic activity of spleen cells after a secondary in vitro stimulation was assayed in a standard 51Cr release assay. A9 cells coated with the GP33 (KAVYNFATM) or the control adenovirus E1A 234-243 peptide (SGPSNTPPEI) at a concentration of 10-6 M were used as target cells. Tumor cells growing in mice were isolated, cultured in vitro for 1 wk, and then used as target cells. Spleen cells from day 8 LCMV-immune B6 mice were used as effector cells. A9 and A9GP33 cells cultured only in vitro were used as controls. The sensitivity of A9GP33 tumor cells to TNF-{alpha} cytotoxicity was assessed by 51Cr release assay. L929, B16.F10, A9, and A9GP33 target cells (5 x 103) were labeled with 250 µCi 51Cr and then incubated with serially diluted recombinant mouse TNF-{alpha} (20–0.0002 ng/ml) (PharMingen) for 14 h. Results were expressed as percentage of specific lysis = {[experimental release (cpm) - spontaneous release (cpm)]/[maximum release (cpm) - spontaneous release (cpm)]} x 100.

In vitro stimulation

Eight days after s.c. injection of 107 A9GP33 into B6 mice, spleen cells (4 x 106) were cultured with B6 spleen cells (2 x 106) coated with 10-6M GP33 peptide in 1.5 ml of IMDM (Life Technologies) containing 10% FCS supplemented with antibiotics and 2-ME. Spleen cells isolated from LCMV-immune mice 10 wk after infection were cultured under the same conditions. After 5 days, cells were harvested and CD8 T cell activity was determined. Spleen cells (4 x 106) from TCR tg mice were cultured in 1.1 ml IMDM supplemented with 10% FCS, penicillin/streptomycin, 2-ME, and 10-7 M GP33 peptide. After 3 days, cells were harvested (60–70% of tg TCR+ T cells) and CTL activity was determined in a 5-h and 14-h 51Cr release assay.

Adoptive transfer and fluorescent cell labeling

Spleen cells of H8 mice were incubated at 5 x 106 cells/ml in ice-cold PBS containing 0.5 µM 5- and 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE; Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oregon) for 10 min at 37°C. The cells were washed once in PBS containing 1% FCS, and 0.5–1.108 cells were injected i.v. into recipient mice. The percentage of CFSE+ donor cells among recipient PBL was determined by flow cytometry on a FACSort flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA).

Anti-viral protection

B6 mice were injected s.c. with 107 A9GP33 tumor cells. Seventeen days later, mice were infected i.v. with 200 pfu of LCMV-WE. After 4 days, viral titers in the spleens were determined in a virus plaque assay as described (22).


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Expression of the LCMV GP33 T cell epitope on transfected 3LL-A9 Lewis lung carcinoma cells

We used a CD8 T cell epitope of the LCMV glycoprotein aa 33–41(GP33) as a TAA. 3LL-A9 Lewis lung carcinoma (H-2b) cells (designated A9 in this study) were transfected with a minigene encoding the 9 aa of the GP33 epitope, and GP33 expression was assessed by 51Cr release assays using GP33-specific CTL. As shown in Fig. 1Go, GP33-transfected A9 cells (A9GP33) were efficiently lysed by effector cells from day 8 LCMV-immune B6 mice. Specific lysis of A9GP33 cells was comparable to the lysis of A9 cells coated with the GP33 peptide. The CTL activity of effector cells was GP33 specific, because the target cells coated with an irrelevant Db-binding peptide from adenovirus were not lysed (Fig. 1Go).



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FIGURE 1. Ag-specific recognition of GP33-transfected A9GP33 tumor cells. GP33-transfected A9GP33 ({triangleup}) and parental A9 cells coated with the GP33 (•) or the adenovirus E1A peptides ({circ}) were used as target cells in a 5-h 51Cr release assay with day 8 LCMV-immune B6 spleen cells as effector cells. Spontaneous release was <20%. This result is representative of several experiments.

 
Regression of A9GP33 tumor cells in B6 mice by GP33-specific CD8 T cells

To determine the effect of GP33 expression on tumor growth, parental A9 and transfected A9GP33 cells were inoculated s.c. into B6 mice. As shown in Fig. 2GoA, the injection of parental tumor cells resulted in progressive tumor growth and the mice had to be killed within 2–3 wk. In striking contrast, A9GP33 cells only developed small tumors (3–4 mm diameter) 5–6 days after inoculation, which completely regressed after 10–12 days in B6 mice (Fig. 2GoB). To assess the role of CD4 and CD8 T cells in A9GP33 tumor rejection, MHC class I- and class II-deficient mice were used. As shown in Fig. 2Go, C and D, growth and rejection of parental and transfected A9 tumor cells were similar in B6 and in B6.I-A-/- mice. Thus, CD4 T cells were not crucial in controlling tumor growth in this model. In contrast, a lack of CD8 T cells in ß2m-/- mice resulted in the progressive growth of the transfected A9GP33 tumor cells (Fig. 2GoF), comparable to parental A9 cells (Fig. 2GoE). Similar growth of parental and transfected tumor cells was also observed in H8 transgenic mice, which ubiquitously express the LCMV GP33 epitope as a transgene (Fig. 2Go, G and H). Due to central tolerance induction, H8 mice lack GP33-specific CD8 T cells (19). Taken together, these data indicated that the CD8 T cells specific for GP33 were required for A9GP33 tumor regression.



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FIGURE 2. Tumor growth of parental and GP33-transfected A9 cells. A9 (A, C, E, and G) or A9GP33 (B, D, F, and H) tumor cells (107) were injected s.c. into the right flank of B6 (A and B), I-A-/- (C and D), ß2m-deficient (E and F), and GP33 tg H8 mice (G and H).

 
Early infiltration of macrophages into the tumor mass

T cell priming usually occurs in secondary lymphoid organs. Therefore, we examined whether A9GP33 tumor cells could be detected in the lymph nodes draining the tumor. Despite the sensitivity of our PCR assay (detection of 1 tumor cell in 106 somatic cells), 1, 3, and 14 days after tumor cell injection, A9GP33 tumor cells were neither found in draining inguinal lymph nodes nor in mesenterial lymph nodes nor in the spleen (not shown). However, immunohistology revealed a massive infiltration of CD11b+ macrophages (red) at the injection site 6 days after tumor cell inoculation (Fig. 3Go, upper left). Later on, tumor cells (blue) became more abundant and CD11b+ macrophages were less numerous in the infiltrates (Fig. 3Go, upper right). This finding points to a strong inflammatory response early after tumor cell injection, which may favor the induction of a tumor-specific T cell response at the tumor site. Indeed, as shown in the bottom panel of Fig. 3Go, CD4 and CD8 T cells infiltrating the tumor mass were detected.



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FIGURE 3. Immunohistology of A9GP33 tumors in B6 mice. Frozen sections of A9GP33 tumors from B6 mice at the indicated time after tumor cell injection were stained with the indicated CD11b-, CD4-, and CD8-specific Abs. The Ab-stained cells (macrophages, CD4, and CD8 T cells) appear as red cells, and A9GP33 tumor cells are stained blue. Magnification, x100.

 
Injection of A9GP33 tumor cells induces a GP33-specific T cell response

To demonstrate that A9GP33 tumor cells induce a GP33-specific CD8 T cell response, three different assays were used. First, the cytolytic activity of in vitro restimulated spleen cells from B6 mice inoculated with A9GP33 cells was determined on A9 target cells pulsed with the GP33 peptide. As shown in Fig. 4GoA, spleen cells from B6 mice injected with the A9GP33 tumor cells exhibited a GP33-specific lytic activity comparable to that of spleen cells from LCMV-immune B6 mice. Second, rejection of CFSE-labeled spleen cells from H8 mice that ubiquitously express GP33 was used as an in vivo assay for functional GP33-specific T cell activity. As shown in Fig. 4GoB, 5 h after the adoptive cell transfer, H8 spleen cells represented 7–10% of PBL of the recipient mice. The CFSE+ cells decreased within 24 h in LCMV-immune B6 mice, whereas they persisted in control B6 mice. The rejection of H8 spleen cells in B6 mice previously injected with A9GP33 tumor cells demonstrated that A9GP33 tumor cells were able to induce GP33-specific T cells in these mice. The slower rejection of H8 spleen cells in A9GP33-injected B6 mice, when compared with LCMV-immune B6 mice, further indicated that GP33-specific T cell priming with tumor cells was less efficient than immunization with live virus. Third, anti-viral protection induced by A9GP33 tumor cells was examined. B6 mice injected with A9GP33 tumor cells were challenged with LCMV, and viral titers were determined in the spleen 4 days after infection. As shown in Fig. 4GoC, the reduction of the virus titers in mice inoculated with A9GP33 tumor cells compared with control B6 mice demonstrated that the transfected tumor cells were able to induce a protective CD8 T cell response. Taken together, these data show that A9GP33 tumor cells were able to prime GP33-specific CD8 T cells in B6 mice.



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FIGURE 4. Priming of GP33-specific CD8 T cells by A9GP33 tumor cells. A, Cytolytic activity of spleen cells from B6 mice injected with A9GP33 tumor cells (circles) after in vitro restimulation with GP33-pulsed B6 spleen cells. As positive control, spleen cells from LCMV-immune B6 mice were cultured under the same conditions (squares). The cytolytic activity was assessed on A9 target cells loaded with the GP33 (• and {blacksquare}, respectively) or the adenovirus E1A peptide ({circ} and {square}, respectively) in a 51Cr release assay. B, Rejection of GP33-expressing H8 donor cells in mice previously injected with A9GP33 tumor cells. Control B6 mice ({circ}), B6 mice 2 wk after the A9GP33 tumor cell injection ({blacksquare}), and LCMV-immune B6 mice (5 mo after the infection, {triangleup}) were transfused with CFSE-labeled spleen cells (108) from H8 mice. The percentage of CFSE-positive donor cells in PBL of the recipient was determined by flow cytometry. C, Anti-viral protection induced by A9GP33 tumor cell inoculation. A9GP33 tumor cells (107) were injected s.c. into four B6 mice. Seventeen days after the tumor cell transfer, mice were infected with LCMV and viral titers in the spleen were determined after 4 days. Untreated B6 mice were included as controls. The bar represents the mean value of four experimental mice per group. The dotted line corresponds to the detection limit of the virus plaque assay.

 
A9GP33 tumor cells grow in mice deficient in TNF-{alpha}, perforin, or IFN-{gamma}

To investigate the mechanism of A9GP33 tumor cell elimination by GP33-specific CD8 T cells, tumor cells were inoculated into mice deficient in either Fas ligand, TNF-{alpha}, perforin, or IFN-{gamma}. As shown in Fig. 5Go, parental A9 tumor cells grew in all mice with a similar kinetic. In contrast with normal B6 mice, which all have rejected A9GP33 tumor cells, A9GP33 tumor growth was observed in B6 mice deficient in perforin (7/8), IFN-{gamma} (9/10), or TNF-{alpha} (13/16). These data demonstrate that perforin, IFN-{gamma}, and TNF-{alpha} were all required for a fully protective anti-tumor T cell response in B6 mice. In contrast, Fas-Fas ligand interaction appeared to play only a minor role in A9 tumor cell elimination in vivo because only one out of five B6.gld mice developed an A9GP33 tumor.



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FIGURE 5. A9GP33 tumor growth in mice deficient in Fas ligand, TNF-{alpha}, perforin, and IFN-{gamma}. A9 ({square}) and A9GP33 ({blacksquare}) tumor cells (107) were injected s.c. into B6 mice (A) and into B6 mice deficient in Fas ligand (B), TNF-{alpha} (C), perforin (D), and IFN-{gamma} (E). Tumor development was followed up to 100 days. In all mice, tumors grew up to 10–20 mm2 within 3–5 days after transfer and then transiently regressed. A mouse was considered to have a tumor when the tumor diameter was >5 mm. The total numbers of mice inoculated with A9 (n) or A9GP33 (n') cells are as follows: B6, n = 6 and n' = 12; Fas ligand-/-, n = 6 and n' = 5; TNF-{alpha}-/-, n = 4 and n' = 16; perforin-/-, n = 6 and n' = 8; IFN-{gamma}-/-, n = 4 and n' = 10.

 
Selection of Ag-loss variants in perforin- and IFN-{gamma}- but not in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice

A9GP33 tumor development in the knockout mice examined could be due to 1) insufficient priming of GP33-specific CD8 T cells, 2) ineffective tumor cell elimination, or 3) selection of GP33 Ag-loss variants. To test for GP33 expression, A9GP33 tumors were isolated, cultured 1 wk in vitro, and tested in a 51Cr release assay using spleen cells from LCMV-infected B6 mice as GP33-specific CTL. As shown in Fig. 6GoA, all tumors isolated from ß2m-/- or H8 transgenic mice still expressed GP33 as a TAA, because the isolated tumor cells were lysed by GP33-specific CTL as efficiently as the A9GP33 line kept in in vitro culture. This result can readily be explained by the fact that these mice lacked GP33-specific CD8 T cells, either due to the failure of positive selection in the thymus (ß2m-/- mice) or due to central tolerance induction (H8 mice).



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FIGURE 6. A, Selection of GP33 Ag-loss variants in mice deficient in IFN-{gamma} and perforin. A9GP33 tumors from the mice indicated were isolated, cultured 1 wk in vitro, and tested in 51Cr release assays using spleen cells from day 8 LCMV-infected B6 mice as GP33-specific CTL. Each square represents specific lysis of target cells from one individual tumor at an E:T ratio of 200:1. A9 and A9GP33 tumor lines kept in in vitro culture were included as controls. Spontaneous release in all assays did not exceed 30% of maximal release. The total numbers of tumors tested from the mice are as follows: ß2m-/-, n = 4; H8, n = 6; IFN-{gamma}-/-, n = 7; perforin-/-, n = 6; TNF-{alpha}-/-, n = 5. B, Lysis of A9GP33 target cells by perforin- and IFN-{gamma}-deficient effector cells in vitro. Spleen cells from the indicated TCR tg mice were stimulated with GP33 peptide in vitro. Three days later, the cytolytic activity of these effector cells was tested against A9GP33 ({blacktriangleup}) and parental A9 target cells ({blacksquare}) in 5-h and 15-h 51Cr release assays in vitro. These results are representative of two independent experiments.

 
All A9GP33 tumors derived from IFN-{gamma}- or perforin-deficient mice lost GP33 expression, because they were no longer recognized by GP33-specific CTL. H-2Kb and Db expression of these ex vivo-isolated tumor cells were comparable to the A9GP33 line kept in culture, and the tumor cells were efficiently lysed by GP33-specific CD8 T cells when pulsed with the GP33 peptide (not shown). These results indicated that Ag-loss variants arose due to the selection pressure of the induced GP33-specific CD8 T cells in IFN-{gamma}- or perforin-deficient mice. To assess the role of perforin and IFN-{gamma} in cell-mediated lysis of A9GP33 tumor cells in vitro, the CTL activity of effector cells from perforin- or IFN-{gamma}-deficient TCR tg mice specific for the GP33 peptide were determined against A9GP33 tumor cells. As shown in Fig. 6GoB, effector cells from TCR tg and TCR tg IFN-{gamma}-/- mice lysed A9GP33 target cells in a 5-h standard 51Cr release assay. In contrast, GP33-specific lytic activity of effector cells from perforin-deficient TCR tg mice was only detected in a long-term (15 h) assay. The observed lysis was GP33 specific because parental A9 target cells were not lysed. Taken together, these data indicate that A9GP33 target cells can be specifically lysed by perforin- or IFN-{gamma}-deficient effector cells, which correlates well with the occurrence of A9 GP33 Ag-loss variants in perforin- and IFN-{gamma}-deficient mice.

Surprisingly, all (5/5) A9GP33 tumors isolated from TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice still expressed the GP33 Ag, because tumor cells were lysed as efficiently as the A9GP33 line kept in vitro. This indicated that GP33-specific CD8 T cells were either not induced or were not able to exert a selection pressure on the growing tumor cells in the absence of TNF-{alpha}. To test whether GP33-specific CD8 T cells were present in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice that developed A9GP33 tumors, CFSE-labeled spleen cells from H8 mice were injected into these mice. As shown in Fig. 7Go, CFSE+ cells rapidly decreased in A9GP33 tumor-bearing TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice, whereas they persisted in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice not given A9GP33 tumor cells. This result demonstrated that A9GP33 tumor cells were able to induce GP33-specific CD8 T cells also in TNF-{alpha}-/- mice.



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FIGURE 7. Induction of GP33-specific CD8 T cell response in TNF-{alpha}-/- mice by A9GP33 tumor cells. Three weeks after the A9GP33 tumor cell injection, TNF-{alpha}-/- mice ({blacksquare}) were injected with CFSE-labeled spleen cells (5 x 107) from H8 mice. Untreated TNF-{alpha}-/- mice ({circ}) were used as control. The percentage of CFSE-positive donor cells in PBL of the recipient was determined by flow cytometry. Kinetics of H8 spleen cell rejection was comparable in tumor-bearing and tumor-free mice.

 
A9GP33 tumor cells are sensitive to TNF-{alpha}

A possible explanation for the impaired ability of TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice to control tumor growth might be that A9GP33 tumor cells were susceptible to direct TNF-{alpha}-mediated cytotoxicity. Therefore, the TNF sensitivity of these cells was examined in vitro. As shown in Fig. 8Go, A9 cells were as sensitive as TNF-sensitive L929 cells to recombinant murine soluble TNF-{alpha}. This result could explain the A9GP33 tumor development in TNF-{alpha}-/- mice despite the presence of GP33-specific CD8 T cells.



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FIGURE 8. TNF-{alpha} sensitivity of A9GP33 tumor cells. The cytotoxicity of recombinant murine TNF-{alpha} at the indicated concentrations was assessed against L929 ({triangleup}), B16.F10 ({circ}), A9 ({square}), and A9GP33 ({blacksquare}) target cells.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
We have examined the role of key effector molecules in CD8 T cell-mediated immunity in a new tumor model that employed the GP33 epitope of LCMV as a defined TAA. In contrast with most other tumor models that also used defined CD8 T cell epitopes as TAA, A9 tumor cells transfected with a GP33 minigene elicited a GP33-specific CD8 T cell response that protected mice against lethal tumor cell injection.

The unique feature of the A9GP33 model could be due to the GP33 epitope used as TAA. The GP33 peptide binds to Db molecules but one amino acid shorter version of this epitope (GP34–43) is also able to bind to the Kb molecules and to be recognized by Kb-restricted CTL from LCMV-infected mice (23, 24). Among several strong CTL epitopes tested, the GP33 peptide was found to be the only one capable of inducing a secondary CTL response in ß2m-/- mice, which have a strongly decreased number of CD8 T cells (25). These data, together with the known immunodominance of the GP33/H-2Db epitope in LCMV infection in H-2b mice, speak for a relatively high frequency of GP33-specific CD8 T cells in the naive T cell repertoire, which could facilitate the induction of a protective immune response against A9GP33 tumor cells. However, due to low frequencies of precursor T cells in normal mice, the actual number of GP33-specific CD8 T cells can neither be determined precisely nor compared with the frequency of T cells specific for other epitopes.

However, expression of the GP33 epitope on tumor cells does not always result in tumor regression. B16.F10GP33 melanoma cells generated with the GP33 expression vector used here for A9 cells grow progressively in syngeneic B6 mice and in LCMV TCR tg mice (21). This shows that both GP33 expression and a high precursor frequency of CD8 T cells specific for the tumor Ag may not always be sufficient to induce tumor regression. Our results in the A9GP33 model are in contrast with a recent report by Hermans and colleagues (26), who also used Lewis lung carcinoma cells and the GP33 peptide as a model Ag. These authors found that parental and GP33-transfected tumor cells grew in B6 mice and in LCMV TCR tg mice with similar kinetics. A difference in GP33 expression levels of the two Lewis lung carcinoma lines used could explain these discrepancies. The features of the A9GP33 tumor model shown here are also distinct from a tumor model first described by Kundig and colleagues using MC57G fibrosarcoma cells and the glycoprotein of LCMV as defined TAA (27). In contrast with the A9 model, both parental and transfected MC57G cells are rejected in syngeneic hosts after s.c. tumor cell injection.

The A9GP33 tumor model shows both similarities and differences to another recently described tumor model that uses HIV gp160 as a model viral tumor Ag (28). As with A9GP33 tumor cells, injection of 15-12-RM-3T3gp160 tumor cells also induced a gp160-specific CTL response, which led to transient regression of the tumors. In contrast with our findings, in the HIV gp160 model recurrent tumors that had lost gp160 expression developed in BALB/c mice but not in mice deficient in CD4 T cells. These differences could be explained by the model Ag (GP33 peptide vs gp160 protein) and/or by the tumor cell types (3LL-A9 vs 15–12-RM-3T3) used.

The site of activation of CD8 T cells recognizing nonmetastatic tumors is a subject of controversy (27, 29, 30). We failed to detect A9GP33 tumor-derived DNA in tumor-draining lymph nodes. This result may suggest that homing of A9GP33 tumor cells into lymphoid tissues is not crucial for the activation of GP33-specific T cells in our model. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that T cell activation by the B7-negative A9GP33 tumor cells occurred via cross-priming, involving host-derived professional APCs migrating from the tumor injection site to regional lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical analysis of the A9GP33 tumor sections revealed a massive macrophage infiltration early after tumor cell injection. The macrophages recruited into the tumor mass may present TAA to CD8 T cells and thereby act as professional APCs.

The fact that A9GP33 tumors were rejected in wild-type B6 mice, but grew in most of mice deficient in perforin, IFN-{gamma}, or TNF-{alpha} indicates that all of these molecules play a role in controlling A9GP33 tumor development. Parental and GP33-transfected A9 cells grew in H8 mice with a similar kinetic. In contrast, A9GP33 tumor growth was significantly delayed in all of the knock-out mice mentioned above. This indicates that initial but not complete immunological control of A9GP33 tumor growth can be mediated by perforin-, IFN-{gamma}-, or TNF-{alpha}-independent effector mechanisms. The finding that A9GP33 tumors regressed in most (4/5) B6.gld mice argues against a crucial role for Fas ligand in A9 tumor cell elimination in vivo.

Interestingly, all A9GP33 tumors isolated from perforin- and IFN-{gamma}-deficient mice represented GP33 Ag-loss variants. How can the outgrowth of these variants be explained? In contrast with wild-type mice, which rapidly clear A9GP33 tumor, tumor cell elimination probably occurs less efficiently and more slowly in the absence of perforin or IFN-{gamma}. This would allow tumor cells to undergo more cell divisions, which will increase the possibility for spontaneous generation of GP33 "escape" variants. The GP33-specific CD8 T cells induced will finally eliminate GP33-expressing tumor cells but will not affect the growth of cells that have lost GP33 expression. An impaired ability of mice lacking perforin (31, 32, 33, 34, 35) or IFN-{gamma} receptors (36) to control the growth of transplanted or induced tumors has been previously demonstrated. A role of tumor-specific CD8 T cells in the in vivo selection of Ag-loss variants has been suggested after analyzing Ags expressed on human melanoma cell lines derived from metastases appearing at intervals of several years (37). Our study provides experimental evidence that selection of Ag-loss tumor variants is favored in the presence of tumor-specific CD8 T cells that lack perforin or IFN-{gamma}. The lack of perforin will mainly affect the lytic potential of effector cells, whereas a deficiency in IFN-{gamma} could influence tumor Ag presentation, induction, and the effector phase of a CD8 T cell response.

Surprisingly, all A9GP33 tumors growing in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice still expressed GP33, because they were recognized by GP33-reactive CTL as efficiently as the original cells used for injection. The rejection of GP33-expressing H8 spleen cells in A9GP33 tumor-bearing TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice demonstrated that a GP33-specific T cell response was induced in these mice. However, GP33-specific T cells were not able to exert selection pressure in the absence of TNF-{alpha}. The precise mechanism of how TNF-{alpha} exerts its function in this tumor model is not yet fully understood. It is possible that soluble or membrane-bound TNF-{alpha} produced by activated GP33-specific CD8 T cells leads directly to lysis of A9GP33 tumor cells in vivo. Alternatively, other TNF-{alpha}-expressing cell types, such as macrophages activated by GP33-specific T cells, may function as effector cells. The observed TNF-{alpha} sensitivity of the A9 tumor cells would fit into such scenarios. TNF-{alpha} may also function indirectly by inducing expression of adhesion molecules and by regulating the migration of macrophages, dendritic cells, and NK cells into the tumor mass (38, 39). The fact that a GP33-specific T cell response was induced in A9GP33 tumor-bearing mice argues that tumor Ag presentation was not severely affected in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice. Alternatively, TNF-{alpha} has been demonstrated to play an essential role in migration of NK cells into the peritoneum of tumor-bearing mice (34). Therefore, one may speculate that the traffic of CD8 effector T cells into the tumor mass may be limited in the absence of TNF-{alpha}. Such an interpretation would explain tumor outgrowth without selection of Ag-loss variants in TNF-{alpha}-deficient mice, despite the presence of primed GP33-specific T cells. However, we failed to observe significant differences in macrophage and CD8 T cell infiltration into the A9GP33 tumor mass between wild-type and TNF-{alpha}-deficient B6 mice (data not shown). The A9GP33 tumor model described here will be of great value for analyzing the important role of TNF-{alpha} in Ag-specific tumor cell elimination mediated by CD8 T cells in vivo.


    Acknowledgments
 
We thank L. Eisenbach for providing 3LL-A9 cells, T. Brocker, H. Eibel, H. Körner, J. Sedgwick, M. Kopf, and H. Hengartner for providing knockout mice, C. Zimmermann and S. Ehl for helpful discussions, S. Batsford for comments on the manuscript, M. Rawiel for expert technical assistance, and T. Imhof for animal husbandry.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinshaft (SFB 364; Teilprojekt B11). Back

2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Hanspeter Pircher, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Immunology, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. E-mail address: Back

3 Abbreviations used in this paper: TAA, tumor-associated Ag; LCMV, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus; B6, C57BL/6 mice; CFSE, 5- and 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester; tg, transgenic; ß2m, ß2-microglobulin. Back

Received for publication September 29, 1999. Accepted for publication January 31, 2000.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
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