Antitumor efficacy induced by a B16F10 tumor cell vaccine treated with mitoxantrone alone or in combination with reserpine and verapamil in mice.

An apoptotic tumor cell serves as a potential potent trigger for the initiation of naturally occurring tumor immunity. In the present study, a B16F10 tumor cell vaccine treated with mitoxantrone (MIT) was developed, and its antitumor effect on mice was evaluated. The results indicated that the B16F10 tumor cell vaccine treated with MIT alone or in combination with reserpine (RP) and verapamil (VP) for 12 h triggered apoptosis, and that the expression of CD80, the MHC II class molecule, NKG2D and its ligand were significantly increased compared to the expression levels in the control group. The tumor vaccine immunogenicity was significantly enhanced in the vaccinated mice, resulting in augmented cytotoxicity of splenocytes and NK cells as well as the splenocyte proliferative response compared to the control group mice. Notably, the mice vaccinated with the B16F10 tumor cell vaccine treated with MIT, RP and VP did not generate tumors only after 60 days into the observation, but the mice also generated a powerful immune prophylactic efficiency against the B16F10 tumor cell challenge. These findings demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the B16F10 tumor cell vaccine treated with MIT alone or in combination with RP and VP in the murine model, and suggest that an apoptotic tumor cell vaccine modeled on naturally occurring tumor immune responses in vivo may provide a safe and immunogenic tumor vaccine for potential applications in humans.