Gr-1 Ab administered after bone marrow transplantation plus thymus transplantation suppresses tumor growth by depleting granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

It has been shown that allogeneic intra-bone marrow-bone marrow transplantation (IBM-BMT) plus thymus transplantation (TT) is effective in treating recipients with malignant tumors. Although TT increases the percentage of T cells in the early term after BMT, the myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are still the dominant population. We used the Gr-1 Ab to deplete the granulocytic MDSCs (G-MDSCs) in tumor-bearing mice that had received BMT+TT. Two weeks after the BMT, the mice injected with Gr-1 Ab showed smaller tumors than those in the control group. In addition, Gr-1 Ab significantly increased the percentages and numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and decreased the percentages and numbers of MDSCs and G-MDSCs. No side effects of the Gr-1 Ab on recipient or donor thymus were observed. These findings indicate that Gr-1 Ab administered after BMT+TT may enhance the effectiveness of tumor suppression.