Generation of cellular immune responses against a glioma-associated antigen(s).

The study demonstrated that RT2, a highly malignant anaplastic glioma, expresses antigens that make it susceptible to in vivo adoptive immunotherapy with cytotoxic T lymphocyte-containing immune cell populations. Rats were immunized with irradiated RT2 tumor cells and the adjuvant C. parvum. Lymphocytes from immunized rats were restimulated in vitro with irradiated RT2 tumor cells plus interleukin-2 (IL-2). The cells that proliferated and differentiated in vitro effectively killed RT2, but only low levels of cytotoxicity were observed against other histopathologically related and unrelated, syngeneic and allogeneic target cells. Adoptive transfer of immune cells combined with a 5-day course of systemic IL-2 produced specific regression of brain tumors growing as lung microfoci.