Semino C, Ferlazzo G, Pietra G, Pasquetti W, Repetto L, Rosso R, Mariani M, Melioli G
Clinical Pathology Division, National Institute for Cancer Research, Genova, Italy.
J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 1993 Jul-Sep;7(3):99-105.
Human alpha- and gamma-interferons (IFNs) have the capability of enhancing the expression of major histocompatibility complex-class I and class II (MHC-I and MHC-II) as well as other surface tumor associated antigens (TAA) on cancer cell lines. This capability, associated to the anti-proliferative effect observed both in vitro and in vivo, was the basis of the extended use of IFN in cancer patients. Despite the great expectations, several solid neoplasms resulted resistant to treatment with IFNs. In order to analyze the actual effects of IFNs on cancer, we treated primary cultures of different histotypes of cancer cell, which are well known to differ significantly from established cell lines, with escalating doses of alpha-IFN. In this paper, we demonstrate that a variable proportion of culture was able to potentiate the expression of MCH-I and MCH-II molecules on the surface. This finding suggests that a clear functional heterogeneity was present in primary cultures of cancer cells, that strictly reflected the in vivo situation. In addition, it is of note that in some histotypes, "natural" lymphoblastoid alpha-IFN was more effective than recombinant human alpha-IFN in the induction of this capability.
人α-干扰素和γ-干扰素能够增强癌细胞系上主要组织相容性复合体I类和II类分子（MHC-I和MHC-II）以及其他表面肿瘤相关抗原（TAA）的表达。这种能力，与在体外和体内观察到的抗增殖作用相关，是干扰素在癌症患者中广泛应用的基础。尽管寄予厚望，但几种实体瘤对干扰素治疗产生了抗性。为了分析干扰素对癌症的实际作用，我们用递增剂量的α-干扰素处理了不同组织类型癌细胞的原代培养物，众所周知，这些原代培养物与已建立的细胞系有显著差异。在本文中，我们证明了不同比例的培养物能够增强表面MCH-I和MCH-II分子的表达。这一发现表明，癌细胞原代培养物中存在明显的功能异质性，这严格反映了体内情况。此外，值得注意的是，在某些组织类型中，“天然”淋巴母细胞α-干扰素在诱导这种能力方面比重组人α-干扰素更有效。
