Activated lymphocyte killer cells derived from melanoma tissue or peripheral blood
Burns, G.F.; Good, M.F.; Riglar, C.; Bartlett, P.F.; Crapper, R.M.; Mackay, I.R.
Clinical and Experimental Immunology 57(2): 487-494
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-9104 PMID: 6331928 Document Number: 224039
Lymphoid cells infiltrating metastatic melanomas were grown directly from cell suspensions of tumor tissue by the addition of T cell growth factor. Lymphoid cells grew out at the expense of tumor cells in 6 of 7 freshly excised tumors; cells from 2 cultures were expanded for in vitro testing of cytolytic function against different target cells. Early in culture the tumor derived lymphocytes killed fresh autologous melanoma cells and, particularly later in culture, were highly and non-specifically cytolytic for cultured melanoma and non-melanoma cells. Cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with melanoma, and from normal subjects, were cytolytic to the same degree as tumor derived lymphocytes, and also resembled cells grown from tumor tissue in possessing acid phosphatase activity which was resistant to tartrate. Cultured lymphoblasts from both tumor and peripheral blood had a T cell phenotype when analyzed with monoclonal antibodies. An in vitro co-culture system was employed to study the kinetics and the precursors of these nonspecific killer cells among blood mononuclear cells. Blood mononuclear cells cultured with irradiated B lymphoblasts led to the generation of nonspecific cytolytic cells, referred to as activated lymphocyte killer (ALK) cells, after 7-10 days of culture; the progenitors of these ALK cells were demonstrated to be distinct from those of specific cytolytic T cells.