Infiltrating CD11b+CD11c+ cells have the potential to mediate inducible nitric oxide synthase‐dependent cell death in mammary carcinomas of HER‐2/neu transgenic mice

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 126; no. 4; pp. 896 - 908
• Main Authors: Parajuli, Nirmala, Müller‐Holzner, Elisabeth, Böck, Günther, Werner, Ernst R., Villunger, Andreas, Doppler, Wolfgang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 15.02.2010; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - genetics; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Animals; Apoptosis - immunology; Apoptosis - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; CD11b Antigen - physiology; CD11c Antigen - physiology; Cell Death - genetics; Cell Line, Tumor; erbB2; Female; Gene Amplification; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; infiltrating myeloid cells; iNOS; Interferon-gamma - immunology; Interferon-gamma - pharmacology; interferons; mammary carcinoma; Mammary gland diseases; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental - genetics; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental - pathology; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II - genetics; Receptor, ErbB-2 - genetics; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Neoplasm - genetics; TATA-Box Binding Protein - genetics; TATA-Box Binding Protein - metabolism; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - immunology; Tumors; erbB2; Breast disease; Transgenic animal; erbB2 Gene; Breast carcinoma; Cancerology; interferons; mammary carcinoma; iNOS; Protooncogene; infiltrating myeloid cells; Enzyme; Cytokine; Rodentia; Breast cancer; Malignant tumor; Myeloid cell; Nitric-oxide synthase; Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2; Mammary gland diseases; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Cell death; C-Onc gene; Interferon; Oxidoreductases; Cancer; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.24805

The development of autochtonous mammary tumors in HER‐2/neu transgenic mice is facilitated by immune tolerance to the neu‐transgene. However, appropriate vaccination strategies can initiate immune system‐mediated antitumor response by a process that requires IFN‐γ. We investigated the role of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction by IFN‐γ to promote tumor cell apoptosis. Tumors from FVBN202 mice expressing the normal neu gene under the control of the MMTV‐LTR were treated in slice cultures with IFN‐γ for up to 24 hr. Apoptosis was induced, which depended on iNOS enzymatic activity. iNOS expression was predominantly found in infiltrating CD11b+CD11c+ myeloid cells and at much lower levels in the tumor epithelium. By contrast, IFN‐γ treatment of explant cultures of tumor epithelial cells was not sufficient to efficiently induce iNOS, emphasizing an important role of the integrity of tumor tissue architecture, which was preserved in the slice cultures. This notion was further supported by the upregulation of iNOS costimulatory cytokines TNF‐α and IL‐1β in slice cultures but not in explants and the capability of purified CD11b+CD11c+ cells to enhance iNOS expression of tumor cells in cocultures. The findings suggest that tumor‐infiltrating myeloid cells in immuno‐tolerant HER‐2/neu transgenic mice possess tumor killing ability via induction of iNOS and underline the capacity of antitumor strategies designed to stimulate infiltrating myeloid cells.