Stromal cell-derived factor 1 effective against leukemia and melanoma in murine models.

2002 NOV 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Vaccination with irradiated tumor cells expressing stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) prevented tumor growth in tumor cell-challenged naive mice and eliminated established tumors, according to reasearchers in the U.S.

"The chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) is essential for perinatal viability, B lymphopoiesis, and bone marrow myelopoiesis, and is a potent monocyte and T-lymphocyte chemoattractant," explained Kyriaki Dunussi-Joannopoulos and colleagues at Wyeth Research and the American Red Cross Holland Laboratory in the U.S. "Interactions of SDF-1 with its receptor CXCR4 have been implicated in CD34+ cell migration and homing."

The investigators engineered murine C1498 leukemia and B16F1 melanoma tumor cells to express SDF-1beta from human cells (hSDF-1beta) (Efficacious immunomodulatory activity of the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1): Local secretion of SDF-1 at the tumor site serves as T-cell chemoattractant and mediates T-cell-dependent antitumor responses. Blood, 2002;100(5):1551-1558).

Vaccination with hSDF-1beta-expressing melanoma tumor cells protected 50% of naive mice against melanoma tumor growth. Immunization with hSDF-1beta-expressing leukemia tumor cells protected 90% of naive mice against melanoma tumor growth after a melanoma cell challenge.

Protection conferred by immunization was specific and did not extend to other types of tumors. Immunodeficient scid mice were ...