In situ lymphoid cells of mouse mammary tumors. III. In vitro stimulation of tumor cell survival by lymphoid cells separated from mammary tumors.

Lymphoid cells were isolated by isokinetic gradient centrifugation from mouse mammary tumors and evaluated for their ability to affect tumor cell survival with the microcytotoxicity assay. In all experiments stimulation of the growth or survival of tumor cells was seen. This stimulation was not seen with separated lymphoid cells treated with anti-lymphocyte serum and complement. The lymphoid cells separated from tumors were more stimulatory than were lymph node cells; even toxic to the tumor cells, the separated tumor-associated lymphoid cells were markedly stimulatory. The gradient procedure had no effect on the activity of sensitized lymph node cells, but it did separate cytotoxicity and stimulation into different fractions.