Summary
Injection of the human tissue-cultured cell line J-111 intravenously into newborn rats results in progressive growth of tumorous masses in lungs and other organs and causes death in about six weeks. Such rats are immunologically tolerant of subsequent transplants of the same or other human cancer cells. Injection of allogeneic “immunocytes” (lymphatic duct cells, peritoneal cells, spleen cells, thymus cells, and white blood cells) i.v. or i.p. into such rats resulted in rejection of the human cell “tumors” and normal development of the rats. Immunocytes from nonimmunized rats had a lesser but definite antitumor effect. Injections of kidney cells or testis cells had no effect. This “adoptive immunization” was effective when initiated within one week after injection of the J-111 cells, but not if delayed until nine days or longer. Serum from the same immunized adult rats had a lesser therapeutic effect.
Subcutaneous implantation of Millipore chambers containing immunocytes from immunized rats together with human tumor cells inhibited the tumors but was not curative.
These studies were supported in part by research grants from the American Cancer Society (T-229) and the National Cancer Institute, USPHS, (CA 08748).
