Activity of lymphocytes and antibodies derived from aging and adult rats bearing a MC-induced tumor in the syngeneic ADCC test

The purpose of the present paper was to demonstrate the antitumor activity of lymphocytes and antibodies in the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity test (ADCC) in relation to the tumor growth in adult and aging rats bearing a methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma (MC-Sa). In the syngeneic system using the ADCC test effector spleen lymphocytes, 51Cr labeled MC-Sa target cells and anti-MC-Sa serum were derived from inbred male Wistar rats. It was found that adult and aging tumor-bearing rats possessed lymphocytes (LSa) and antibodies (Ab) which were active in ADCC. In comparative studies between the groups of adult and aging rats a reverse relationship between tumor growth and activity of LSa and Ab in the ADCC test has been found. Thus, the larger weight of tumors in the group of adult rats was followed by lower LSa and Ab activities in the ADCC test. On the other hand, the smaller tumor growth in the group of aging rats was followed by higher activities of LSa and Ab in this test. We suggest that the ADCC phenomenon could be one of the antitumor mechanisms especially effective in aging rats.