ISSN:
1434-0879
Keywords:
BCG vaccine
;
Immunotherapy
;
Bladder cancer
;
Cytotoxicity
;
NK-cells
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Previously we had shown that, upon activation with viable bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) could be rendered cytotoxic against otherwise insensitive natural killer (NK)-resistant bladder cancer cell lines. This phenomenon had been termed the BCG-activated killer (BAK) cell phenomenon. By means of depletion and enrichment procedures of mononuclear cell subpopulations derived from BCG-activated PBMNC we further characterized the cytolytic BAK effector cells functionally in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay against the bladder carcinoma cell line BT-A and phenotypically in their pathway of activation. Neither macrophages nor CD4+ T-helper/inducer cells exerted cytotoxic BAK activity. This cytotoxicity was restricted to the CD8-CD56+ subpopulation of T-cytotoxic/NK cells. Furthermore, activation of BAK cells via interferon gamma (IFN-γ) was evidenced by the complete inhibition of BAK cell generation with an IFN-γ antibody.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00571848
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