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Howard Hughes Medical Institute-NIH Research Scholars Program, Bethesda, Maryland 20814 [D. B. C.]; and Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1502 [T. Z. Z., S. A. R., N. P. R.]
| ABSTRACT |
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| Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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The caspase inhibitor z-Val-Ala-Asp-CH2F (z-VAD.fmk) and the control z-FA.fmk were reconstituted according to the manufacturers protocol and used at a final concentration of 25 µM (Enzyme Systems, Dublin, CA).
Functional Assay for FasL.
Target cells were labeled with 200 µCi of Na51CrO4 (Amersham) for 1 h at 37°C and then washed three times to remove excess chromium before they were added to 96-well plates in triplicate. The effector cells were plated at 5 x 104 cells/well and grown to confluence for 24 h before the addition of 105 chromium-labeled target cells. Maximum lysis of labeled cells was achieved with 2% SDS. After 1620 h of incubation, the supernatants were collected, and the amount of released 51Cr was determined by a
-photon counter. The spontaneous lysis was always <30% of maximum lysis. Percentage specific lysis was calculated as follows: [(experimental cpm - spontaneous cpm)/(maximal cpm - spontaneous cpm)] x 100.
RT-PCR Detection of FasL mRNA.
Total RNA from SW480 and Jurkat melanoma cell lines and antimelanoma cell line CTL 1143 was obtained by the TRIzol method (Life Technologies, Inc.). RNA was dissolved in diethyl pyrocarbonate-treated water and stored at -70°C. Using gene-specific, intron-spanning primers, we performed cDNA synthesis and PCR amplification in a single-step reaction using 1 µg of RNA per reaction (SuperScript One-Step RT-PCR System; Life Technologies, Inc.). In the minus RT reactions, PCR Supermix containing Taq (Life Technologies, Inc.) was substituted for the SuperScript II RT/Taq Mix. The intron-spanning primers used in these experiments were previously used to detect FasL mRNA (11)
and had the following sequences: forward, 5'-GGATTGGGCCTGGGGATGTTTCA-3'; and reverse, 5'-TTGTGGCTCAGGGGCAGGTTGTTG-3'. These primers generated a 344-bp product from FasL mRNA and a 6.3-kb fragment from genomic DNA. Primers used to amplify ß-actin were as follows (540-bp product): forward, 5'-GTGGGGCGCCCCAGGCACCA-3'; and reverse, 5'-CTCCTTAATGTCACGCACGATTTC-3'. The primers were used at a concentration of 20 pmol per reaction. The cDNA synthesis step was performed at 45°C for 20 min followed by 94°C for 2 min. After cDNA synthesis, PCR amplification was performed with 40 cycles of the following: 94° for 15 s, 55° for 30 s, and 72° for 1 min. PCR products were analyzed on a 1.5% agarose gel using ethidium bromide and UV illumination for detection of DNA fragments. For comparison, non-intron-spanning primers used by Tschopp et al. (7)
were: forward, 5'-CTCTGGAATGGGAAGACACC-3'; and reverse, 5'-ACCAGAGAGAG-CTCAGATACG-3'. These primers generated a 327-bp fragment from both FasL mRNA and genomic DNA.
| Results and Discussion |
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To avoid artifacts from DNA contamination and primer selection, intron-spanning primers that were previously reported to detect FasL in tumor cells were chosen and fresh tumor samples (either surgical or FNA) were passaged for short periods in vitro to remove lymphocytes. Although FasL expression was not detected in melanoma cells, we confirmed the expression of FasL mRNA by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and a colon adenocarcinoma that served to verify the sensitivity of the assay (Fig. 2, A and B)
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The functional assay used in this report was designed to reproduce the conditions used by Hahne et al. (7)
including the same target (A20) and incubation time. The results from our functional assay are in agreement with those recently published by Arai et al. (14)
, who demonstrated that none of the six human melanoma cell lines that they studied expressed functional FasL. Although Hahne et al. (7)
demonstrated low levels of target cell lysis (at most, 30%), they did not show any ability to block this apparent lysis with anti-Fas antibodies or caspase inhibitors (7)
. We consistently observed nonspecific killing (
530%) of the L1210 parental cell line (which did not express Fas). However, the killing of the parental L1210 by the FasL+ D11s was not blocked by z-VAD.fmk (Fig. 1B)
, suggesting a nonapoptotic form of cell death. These findings underscore the importance of using apoptosis inhibitors in the analysis of the expression of functional FasL. Furthermore, the specificity of death induced by purportedly FasL+ tumors that has been reported previously has recently been questioned (15)
. Indeed, the SW480 colon line, which was positive for FasL expression by RT-PCR in our experiments, was recently shown to be incapable of inducing Fas-mediated lysis (15)
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Theoretical Considerations: FasL and Inflammation.
The paradigm summarized originally by Vaux (and recently retracted; Ref. 6
) was one in which immune-privileged sites express FasL and destroy infiltrating T lymphocytes. A similar scenario was envisioned for tumor cells. The expression of FasL would make these tumor sites privileged as well. This hypothesis, however, may not fully take into account the immunological implications of the induction of apoptotic death of T cells, macrophages, and other Fas-expressing bystander cells. Specifically, cells killed through the Fas pathway are killed through a cascade of caspase proteases (16)
, including caspase-1 (also known as ICE). ICE may be a nexus of the ancient death pathway and the more recently evolved immune system. This enzyme cleaves pro-IL-1ß into active IL-1ß (16)
. The release of activated IL1ß by apoptotic cells in the tumor bed would likely attract a great deal of immunological attention.
A similar finding of inflammation as opposed to immune suppression has been reported when FasL is expressed in pancreatic ß-cell transplants. Rather than conferring immune privilege to transplanted ß islets, a result that would and represent a significant advance in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, FasL-expressing islets cells are targeted for rapid destruction (17, 18, 19) . In another line of investigation, allogeneic islets of Langerhans cells wrapped with syngeneic myoblasts expressing FasL elicited a rapid inflammatory response, resulting in the formation of an abscess filled with granulocytes (20) . Finally, generation of a recombinant vaccinia virus encoding FasL was not found to be more virulent. Instead, experiments done by Zinkernagel and coworkers (21) with such recombinant vaccinia virus demonstrated no direct role for CD95L in down-regulating antivaccinia CTLs.
Data from experimental animals confirm the potentially proinflammatory effects of the constitutive expression of FasL (14 , 22) . Tumor cells were transfected with functionally active FasL. Rather than granting immune privilege status to tumor cells, the experimental data demonstrate that FasL had the opposite effect. FasL-expressing tumors elicited a rapid influx of neutrophils, signaling the inflammatory microenvironment. The finding that constitutive FasL expression by tumors is inflammatory rather than immunosuppressive has been confirmed in three different experimental tumor models including B16, CT26, and RENCA (14 , 22) . Induction of FasL expression by human melanoma cells would likely enhance their immunogenicity through the activation of ICE-family proteases and the production of activated IL-1ß, and it represents a novel immunotherapeutic strategy (14) . Clearly, immune privilege is more than the mere expression of FasL and will likely involve other immunomodulatory factors, such as TGF-ß (23) .
Our recent success in vaccinating patients with metastatic melanoma has been tempered by our inability to determine what biological variables contribute to the clinical response (4) . The hypothesis that some melanoma lesions express FasL offered an attractive explanation for the heterogeneity of responses seen in immunotherapy protocols. We were unable to establish any clinical correlate because all of the melanoma cells that we tested were found to be negative for FasL expression. A more complete understanding of the proinflammatory effects of FasL-mediated caspase activation may lead to the enhanced effectiveness of vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, 10 Center Drive MSC-1502, Bethesda, MD 20892-1502. E-mail: restifo{at}nih.gov ![]()
2 The abbreviations used are: FasL, Fas ligand; RT, reverse transcriptase; FNA, fine needle aspiration; ICE, interleukin-1ß-converting enzyme; IL-1ß, interleukin 1ß. ![]()
Received 10/15/98. Accepted 11/13/98.
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