Tumor-specific CD8+ T cells expressing interleukin-12 eradicate established cancers in lymphodepleted hosts.

ABSTRACT: T-cell-based immunotherapies can be effective in the treatment of large vascularized tumors, but they rely on adoptive transfer of substantial numbers ( approximately 20 million) of tumor-specific T cells administered together with vaccination and high-dose interleukin (IL)-2. In this study, we report that approximately 10,000 T cells gene-engineered to express a single-chain IL-12 molecule can be therapeutically effective against established tumors in the absence of exogenous IL-2 and vaccine. Although IL-12-engineered cells did not perist long-term in hosts, they exhibited enhanced functionality and were detected in higher numbers intratumorally along with increased numbers of endogenous natural killer and CD8(+) T cells just before regression. Importantly, transferred T cells isolated f

SUBMITTER: Kerkar SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2935308 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature