Abstract
Expression levels of the immunostimulatory 90K antigen in mammary carcinoma, glioblastoma, and other tumor-derived cell lines inversely correlate with their tumorigenicity in athymic mice. Engineered enhancement of 90K expression results in significant (>80%) tumor growth inhibition, not by direct action on the tumor cell, but by stimulation of the residual cell-mediated immune defense of the nude mouse. Enhanced 90K level effects are both localized and systemic and involve induction of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in the tumor endothelium. The findings presented suggest a role for 90K as a molecular alarm signal for the body's cellular defense against pathogens, which in a subset of tumors is suppressed to allow cancer progression.
Footnotes
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↵1 This work was supported in part by grants (to S.I.) from Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro and Consiglio Nazionale Richerche Special Project “Applicazioni Cliniche della Ricerca Oncologica.”
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↵2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.
- Received May 19, 1995.
- Accepted June 14, 1995.
- ©1995 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 55, Issue 15
