Collaboration between distinct subpopulations of T cells in in vitro generation of effector cells capable of growth prevention of syngeneic SV40-induced sarcoma in mice

Abstract

The concept of T-T cell interaction which was first suggested during cell-mediated immune response to alloantigens was evaluated in a syngeneic tumor system. The combination of lymph node and thymus cells from BALB/c mice immune against syngeneic tumor cells, mKSA, was shown to exhibit collaboration with respect to in vitro generation of effector cells capable of preventing growth of corresponding tumor cells in the tumor cell neutralization assay. While each cell population of either anatomical site did not prevent tumor growth when tested alone, combinations of both did. The antigen specificity of effector cells generated by synergizing cultures was similar to that of effectors derived from cultures containing optimal numbers of responding lymph node cells. The lymph node and thymus cell populations participating in synergy were found to be thymus dependent. These results suggest that we may be dealing with the same or similar T 1- and T 2-cell populations described before as displaying synergy in response to alloantigens in the graft versus host, mixed lymphocyte, and cell-mediated cytotoxicity reactions.