Proliferative response of T cells from tumor-immune chickens to carcinogen-induced fibrosarcoma cells

Abstract

Immunity to carcinogen-induced transplantable fibrosarcomas (CHCT-NYU-4, -97, -36 and -20) in SC chickens was studied by the ability of spleen cells from NYU-4 or -97 immune chickens to proliferate in response to tumor cells in vitro. Spleen, but not peripheral blood cells, from NYU-4 immune chickens proliferated significantly more vigorously to gamma-irradiated NYU-4 cells than did cells from normal chickens. The proliferative response was not much affected by addition of indomethacin. Spleen cells from NYU-4-immune agammaglobulinemic (A gamma) chickens exhibit the same ability to proliferate in presence of gamma-irradiated NYU-4 tumor cells. Analysis of the phenotype of the T-cell component involved in proliferation showed that the proliferative response was significantly decreased by removal of CT4+ cells through indirect panning. Removal of CT8+ cells enhanced background proliferation without affecting the total thymidine incorporation in the presence of tumor cells. Immune spleen cells usually gave highest responses to the immunizing tumor, but also exhibited cross-reactivity to cells from other individual tumors induced by the same carcinogen.