Concomitant treatment of MBT-2 bladder tumour by tumour necrosis factor alpha and interferon alpha in conjunction with delayed type hypersensitivity immunotherapy

Summary In our previous study [9], we reported the anti-tumour effect of TNF on mouse bladder tumour (MBT-2) both in vivo and in vitro. Inoculation of a single dose of TNF alone caused significant but transient tumour growth inhibition. Subsequent repeated doses of TNF did not sustain or augment the antitumour effect. The current experiments were undertaken to assess the anti-tumour activity of (i)-concomitant treatment of TNF-A and IFN-A against MBT-2 bladder tumour and (ii)-concomitant TNF+IFN-A treatment in conjunction with T-DTH (delayed-type hypersensitivity) immunotherapy. Systemic administration of multiple doses of TNF+IFN-A in vivo caused initial partial tumour regression followed by tumour growth inhibition up to 14 days following treatment. This combined treatment showed an enhanced anti-tumour effect compared to TNF-A treatment alone. Immunotherapy of MBT-2 tumour-bearing mice with T-DTH immune effector cells alone did not cause significant tumour growth inhibition. In contrast, concomitant administration of both T-DTH effector cells and TNF+IFN-A in MBT-2 tumour-bearing mice resulted in significant tumour growth inhibition for up to 16 days. The immune effector cells conferring immunotherapy were isolated from the spleens of tumour-immunized, DTH-primed animals and were characterized as Lyt 1⁺2^- helper/DTH T cells (CD4⁺ phenotype). These cells mediate both DTH response to MBT-2 tumour antigens as well as anti-MBT-2 tumour protection. In vitro treatment of the immune cells with TNF-A resulted predominantly in the proliferation of Lyt 1⁺ T cells versus Lyt 2⁺ cells. The anti-tumour effect of TNF+IFN-A can be augmented by immunotherapy possibly via the immune capacity of tumour sensitized T-DTH effector cells.