Effect of poly I:C-activated peritoneal cells on the take of transplantable murine tumours.

The effect of syngeneic mouse peritoneal cells (PC) on the growth of four different transplantable tumours was studied in adoptive transfer experiments (Winn's test). PC from unstimulated mice did not influence the growth of a benzpyrene induced fibrosarcoma (BaF1) and a methylcholantrene induced mastocytoma (P815), but significantly enhanced the growth of a spontaneous adenocarcinoma (Sp4) and Lewis lung carcinoma (LL). PC induced by a single injection of thioglycollate did not influence, whereas PC elicited by proteose peptone markedly enhanced the growth of BaF1 fibrosarcoma. The enhancing effect of peptone induced PC was diminished by a single intraperitoneal dose (100 micrograms/mouse) of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) given after peptone injection. Transferring PC obtained after a single injection of poly I:C (100 micrograms intraperitoneally) resulted in retardation of growth of BaF1 fibrosarcoma and Sp4 adenocarcinoma or in a marked decrease in their take depending on the PC/tumour cell ratio. The effector cells involved in the protective effect proved to be different, using these two tumour models. Lewis lung carcinoma and P815 mastocytoma proved to be insensitive to poly I:C-stimulated PC.