Endogenous tumor necrosis factor induction with Bordetella pertussis vaccine as a triggering agent and its therapeutic effect on MM46 carcinoma-bearing mice.

Induction of endogenous tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by administration of Bordetella pertussis vaccine (BPV) as a triggering agent and its therapeutic effect against MM46 carcinoma were investigated in C3H/He mice. Test triggering agents were injected intravenously into mice after intravenous injection of 4-fold dilution of macrophage activating factor (MAF) or 10(4) units of murine interferon-gamma (Mu-IFN-gamma). Then sera were obtained from the mice, and their TNF activities were assayed on L-929 cells by the method of Ruff and Gifford. The triggering activity of BPV was the highest among those of conventional triggers, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli, and OK-432. The levels of serum TNF activity triggered by BPV (4 X 10(9) cells), LPS of E. coli (3 micrograms) and OK-432 (3 KE) were 5350, 85 and 102 units/ml, respectively. Growth of MM46, a spontaneous mammary carcinoma cell line of C3H/He was observed for 35 days after tumor inoculation and was suppressed significantly by intravenous injection of MAF and BPV (4 X 10(9) cells). On local injection of BPV (2 X 10(9) cells) into murine tumors, complete regression was observed in 67% of the mice tested with or without MAF priming on day 25 after tumor inoculation, and intratumoral TNF activity was observed even in the case of the single injection of BPV.