Tumor-Derived Membrane Vesicles from the IL-2 Overexpression Melanoma Cells Affect on the Expression of Surface Markers of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells In Vitro

Abstract

Nowadays, immunotherapy, in particular immunotherapeutic vaccines, is a promising approach in the treatment of cancer which has already demonstrated its effectiveness. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are capable of delivering biologically active agents to the cells, can be a promising candidate for such vaccines. M14 human melanoma cells were transduced with lentivirus encoding interleukin (IL)–2. Membrane vesicles from M14 cells expressing IL-2 were isolated using cytochalasin B. The interaction of membrane vesicles with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells has been analyzed. Activation of T cells was shown, as well as a decrease in the number of NK cells, after cultivation with tumor-derived vesicles. However, no cytotoxic activity of T cells after cultivation with tumor-derived vesicles was observed, which can be explained by their immunosuppressive properties. On the other hand, such vesicles can be a promising source of tumor-specific antigens for dendritic vaccines. Therefore, further studies are required in view of the possible use of tumor-derived vesicles as a target antigen for dendritic cells.