Suppression of lymphoma and epithelial malignancies effected by interferon γ

SEA Street, JA Trapani, D MacGregor… - The Journal of …, 2002 - rupress.org
SEA Street, JA Trapani, D MacGregor, MJ Smyth
The Journal of experimental medicine, 2002rupress.org
The immunosurveillance of transformed cells by the immune system remains one of the most
controversial and poorly understood areas of immunity. Gene-targeted mice have greatly
aided our understanding of the key effector molecules in tumor immunity. Herein, we
describe spontaneous tumor development in gene-targeted mice lacking interferon (IFN)-γ
and/or perforin (pfp), or the immunoregulatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-18, and tumor
necrosis factor (TNF). Both IFN-γ and pfp were critical for suppression of lymphomagenesis …
The immunosurveillance of transformed cells by the immune system remains one of the most controversial and poorly understood areas of immunity. Gene-targeted mice have greatly aided our understanding of the key effector molecules in tumor immunity. Herein, we describe spontaneous tumor development in gene-targeted mice lacking interferon (IFN)-γ and/or perforin (pfp), or the immunoregulatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Both IFN-γ and pfp were critical for suppression of lymphomagenesis, however the level of protection afforded by IFN-γ was strain specific. Lymphomas arising in IFN-γ-deficient mice were very nonimmunogenic compared with those derived from pfp-deficient mice, suggesting a comparatively weaker immunoselection pressure by IFN-γ. Single loss of IL-12, IL-18, or TNF was not sufficient for spontaneous tumor development. A significant incidence of late onset adenocarcinoma observed in both IFN-γ– and pfp-deficient mice indicated that some epithelial tissues were also subject to immunosurveillance.
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