GM-CSF, IL-6 Boost Efficacy of Autologous Tumor Cell Vaccine.(Brief Article)

2001 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Mice with established renal cell carcinoma (Renca) tumors achieved complete remission after immunization with an autologous Renca vaccine genetically enhanced with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), say researches working in Japan.

Y. Kinoshita and colleagues introduced and expressed murine GM-CSF and murine IL-6 genes in Renca cells, then subcutaneously injected Balb/c mice with either inactivated wild-type Renca, Renca-GM-CSF, Renca-IL-6, or a mixture of Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6. One to three weeks later, they challenged the mice with wild-type Renca cells.

After eight weeks of monitoring, the researchers found that mice vaccinated with the combination of Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6 did not form tumors, and those vaccinated with either one had less tumor growth and prolonged survival time compared with those vaccinated with wild-type Renca.

In a separate experiment, mice with established Renca tumors (8-10 mm) were injected subcutaneously weekly for three weeks with inactivated wild-type Renca cells or either one or a combination of Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6, then monitored for eight weeks.

Mice that got wild-type Renca died within 42 days, but those vaccinated with Renca-GM-CSF or Renca-IL-6 alone survived longer. Renca-GM-CSF also drastically reduced tumor size.

Mice vaccinated with Renca-GM-CSF plus Renca-IL-6 achieved complete remission, noted Kinoshita and coworkers ("Anti-tumor ...