Costimulation by CD48 and B7-1 induces immunity against poorly immunogenic tumors.

Genetic modification of many types of mouse tumors to express the B7-1 or B7-2 molecules, natural ligands for the T cell-costimulatory molecule CD28, increases their immunogenicity. However, even after transfection with the B7-1 and/or B7-2 genes, poorly immunogenic tumors fail to elicit and efficient immune response. We report here that two such tumors, the Ag104A sarcoma and the K1735-M2 melanoma, become immunogenic after transfection of the genes encoding murine B7-1 together with CD48, which is the natural ligand for CD2. Tumor-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were readily generated and were effective for adoptive immunotherapy of metastasis induced by wild-type Ag104A sarcoma cells. A similar approach may be useful for developing therapy for other poorly immunogenic tumors, including those in humans.