Letter: Formalin-fixed tumour cells in the leukocyte migration test

Evaluation of the Specificity of the Leukocyte Migration Inhibition Test against Histologically Homologous and Heterologous Neoplastic Antigens in Cancer Patients

The aim of the present study was to verify whether the CMI response of the host's lymphocytes is directed towards tumor-associated antigens (TAA) specific for each histological type of tumor. The leucocyte migration inhibition (LMI) test was selected for this purpose, utilizing the cancer patients' leucocytes and, as neoplastic antigens, formalin-fixed cells of surgically removed cancer tissue. Two hundred and eighteen patients were studied, 110 of whom were affected by breast cancer, 48 by digestive tract and 60 by laryngeal cancer. The total amount of tests performed was 278. The leucocytes of 93 normal subjects were tested against the different tissues' cancer antigens, as were the leucocytes of 41 patients with cancer of different organs tested against the corresponding normal tissues' antigens. The breast cancer patients (122 tests performed) showed 82.35 % positive tests against homologous antigen, 72.72 % and 95.24 % against heterologous (digestive tract and laryngeal cancer, respectively) antigens. The digestive tract cancer patients (69 tests performed) showed 70.27 % positive tests against homologous, 66.66 % and 43.48 % against heterologous antigens (breast and laryngeal cancer, respectively). The laryngeal cancer patients (87 tests performed) showed 74.29 % positive tests against homologous, 38.10 % and 80.65 % against heterologous antigens (breast and digestive tract, respectively). The results led to the conclusion that the LMI test response of cancer patients was not « tissue specific »: the test did not discriminate between the homologous and the heterologous cancer antigens, and it seems that the response was not directed towards specific TAA but only towards wide-range or « group » TAA, shared by several types of tumors.

Response to Neoplastic Antigens in Human Oncology: Assessment and Results of Lif (Leucocyte Inhibitory Factor) Test in Breast Cancer Patients

The leucocyte inhibition factor (LIF) test, revealing the inhibition of leucocyte migration from capillary tubes, was studied with leucocytes from 47 patients with breast cancer, from 14 patients with benign breast tumors, and from 56 normal subjects. As antigens we used formalin-fixed tumor cells. The LIF assay was positive in 38/47 (80.8 %) breast cancer patients, in 10/14 (71.4 %) benign breast tumor patients, and in 13/56 (23.2 %) normal subjects. The negative LIF assays were higher with leucocytes from patients with metastases than with those from patients with no metastases. We found no correlation between the LIF-test response and the histopathologic pattern of the tumors, type of treatment (almost always surgical), and remission or relapse state of our patients at the time of testing.

A preliminary report on the use of transfer factor for treating stage D3 hormone-unresponsive metastatic prostate cancer

As conventional treatments are unsuccessful, the survival rate of stage D3 prostate cancer patients is poor. Reports have suggested the existence of humoral and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) against prostate cancer tumour-associated antigens (TAA). These observations prompted us to treat stage D3 prostate cancer patients with an in vitro produced transfer factor (TF) able to transfer, in vitro and in vivo, CMI against bladder and prostate TAA. Fifty patients entered this study and received one intramuscular injection of 2-5 units of specific TF monthly. Follow-up, ranging from 1 to 9 years, showed that complete remission was achieved in 2 patients, partial remission in 6, and no progression of metastatic disease in 14. The median survival was 126 weeks, higher than the survival rates reported in the literature for patients of the same stage.

Preliminary observations using HIV-specific transfer factor in AIDS

Twenty five HIV-1-infected patients, at various stages (CDC II, III and IV) were treated orally with HIV-1-specific transfer factor (TF) for periods varying from 60 to 1870 days. All patients were receiving antiviral treatments in association with TF. The number of lymphocytes, CD4 and CD8 subsets were followed and showed no statistically significant variations. In 11/25 patients the number of lymphocytes increased, whilst in 11/25 decreased; similarly an increase of the CD4 lymphocytes was observed in 11/25 patients and of the CD8 lymphocytes in 15/25. Clinical improvement or a stabilized clinical condition was noticed in 20/25 patients, whilst a deterioration was seen in 5/25. In 12/14 anergic patients, daily TF administration restored delayed type hypersensitivity to recall antigens within 60 days. These preliminary observations suggest that oral HIV-specific TF administration, in association with antiviral drugs, is well tolerated and seems beneficial to AIDS patients, thus warranting further investigation.

A monoclonal antibody to human transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder cross-reacting with a differentiation antigen of neutrophilic lineage

A monoclonal antibody (MAb) to human transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCCB) was obtained by immunization of a BALB/c mouse with formalin-fixed TCCB cells and subsequent fusion of the spleen cells with SP2-OAg14 myeloma line. GF 26.7.3 MAb was selected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) as reacting agent with target cells and negative with autologous lymphocytes and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell-line. GF 26.7.3 reacts with a high percentage of bladder and colon carcinomas when examined by IIF and immunoperoxidase techniques and cross-reacts with a determinant expressed on neutrophilic cell lineage. The IIF analysis performed on bone marrow and peripheral blood (PB) from healthy subjects and leukemic patients and on leukemic cell lines showed that the expression of the structure detected by GF 26.7.3 is restricted to the neutrophilic cell lineage and first expressed at the promyelocytic level. Immunoprecipitation and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of 125 I-labelled membrane proteins from target cells were performed, but no bands were detected by autoradiography. In addition, pronase insensitivity and periodate sensitivity suggest the possible involvement of a carbohydrate determinant.

In vitro production of a transfer factor specific for transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder

Human dialysable Transfer Factor (TFd) extracted from lymphocytes of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of bladder (TCCB) was replicated in culture by lymphoblastoid cell lines. The effectiveness of two such TFdLs produced in vitro in transferring sensitivity to TCCB was assessed in the lymphocyte migration test (LMT) using formalin-treated TCCB cells as antigen. The results, showed that one TFdL transferred sensitivity in 5/14 cases and the other in 12/15, not only to leucocytes of healthy individuals but also to leucocytes of TCCB patients. Preliminary results showing an in vivo transfer of sensitivity are discussed.

Use of formalin-fixed melanoma cells for the detection of antibodies against surface antigens by a micro-immune adherence technique

Established malanoma cell lines were fixed in suspension with 4% formalin and tested for antigenic activity against sera from melanoma patients in a micro-immune adherence test. By incubation of formalin-fixed cells in serum-free medium the unspecific background rosette formation was substantially reduced to below 10%. As could be demonstrated in absorption experiments with viable and formalin-fixed tumor cells, surface antigens reacting with sera from melanoma patients are largely unaffected by formalin treatment.