Major histocompatibility complex class I and unique antigen expression by murine tumors that escaped from CD8 super(+) T-cell-dependent surveillance

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 50; no. 13; pp. 3851 - 3858
• Main Authors: Ward, P, Koeppen, H K, Hurteau, T, Rowley, DA, Schreiber, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.1990
• ISSN: 0008-5472

The rejection of murine UV-induced skin cancers by normal mice is a striking example of powerful immune surveillance of the normal host against malignant cells. In this study, we show that UV-induced regressor tumors regularly grew progressively and killed mice that were depleted of CD8 super(+) T-cells. Depletion of CD4 super(+) T-cells had no effect, suggesting that CD8 super(+) but not CD4 super(+) T-cells were required for this immune surveillance. To determine whether change in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression was a frequent event that caused low immunogenicity of tumors or facilitated escape from immune destruction, recently isolated murine tumors of varying degrees of immunogenicity, including highly immunogenic UV-induced regressor, less immunogenic UV-induced progressor, and poorly immunogenic spontaneous progressor tumors, were compared. There was no correlation between the ability of a tumor to grow progressively in a normal immunocompetent host and the level of constitutive class I expression or the level of expression induced in vitro by gamma interferon. (DBO)