Influence of different routes of anti-tumor immunization: alternative induction of tumor immunity and tumor enhancement.

Chickens and quails were immunized in parallel either i.v. or intramuscularly (i.m.) with lectin column-purified antigens from chick embryo cells that were transformed in vitro by avain sarcoma virus (ASV). After five to six injections, immunity of the animals was tested by challenge with ASV into the wing webs. Whereas tumor growth was inhibited after i.v. immunization with respect to incidence rate and time of tumor appearance, tumor growth was enhanced after i.m. injection. Animals that were injected with normal cell antigens served as controls. Spleen cells from only those animals that were immunized i.v. exerted a cytotoxic effect in vitro against ASV-transformed cells, whereas spleen cells from i.m. injected animals, in contrast, suppressed such cytotoxicity. The search for serum blocking or arming factors suggested that sera from i.m. injected animals block cellular cytotoxicity whereas sera from i.v. immunized animals render normal spleen cells cytotoxic (arming effect). The use of viruses from different subgroups and of antigens from gp85-lacking ASV-transformed cells indicates that immune effects were obtained against tumor cell surface antigens that differ from the antigen that is involved in virus neutralization (s-gp85).