A combined lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell immunotherapy and adenovirus-p53 gene therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The antitumor activity of lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells immunotherapy is not always effective in all patients, especially when used alone. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antitumor activities of a combination of LAK immunotherapy and gene therapy employing an adenovirus carrying the p53 gene (Ad-p53) in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The in vitro cytotoxicity of LAK cells was tested in H891 cells infected with or without Ad-p53, and the mRNA expression levels of natural killer group 2D ligands (UL16 binding protein (ULBP) 1 to 5) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in these cells were measured by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

Ad-p53 infection increased the cytotoxicity of LAK cells against H891 cells, and also increased the mRNA expression levels of the ULBPs in H891 cells and TNF-α in the LAK cells.

CONCLUSION

The antitumor activities of LAK cells in H891 cells were enhanced by Ad-p53.

CONCLUSION

The combinational therapy of LAK immunotherapy and Ad-p53 gene therapy may represent a new paradigm for the treatment of head and neck cancer.

The effect of obstruction on the developing bladder

Congenital bladder obstruction causes significant immediate and long-term consequences yet its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. A model of early fetal bladder obstruction in sheep has been developed to study the response of the developing bladder to high grade obstruction, with particular emphasis on the regulation of growth and development. Congenital bladder obstruction was produced in fetal sheep at 60 days of gestation and studied at 95 days of gestation (14 sheep) or term (12 sheep). A total of 24 age-matched normal sheep served as controls. Bladders were analyzed by total weight, stereological estimation of smooth muscle cell size, number and total mass, deoxyribonucleic acid concentration, muscarinic cholinergic receptor density, myosin isoform analysis and/or passive cystometrics. Congenital bladder obstruction caused a 4.6 times increase in bladder weight at term reflecting a 5.8 times increase in smooth muscle mass. This increase was predominantly that of cellular hypertrophy and less so of hyperplasia, based upon increased cell volume, increased protein-to-deoxyribonucleic acid ratio, and no significant increase in total cell number. Muscarinic cholinergic receptor number per smooth muscle cell increased 3.2 times but it did not change relative to myosin content. The ratio of myosin heavy chain isoforms SM1:SM2 is developmentally regulated and was seen to change from 1.6 at 100 days of gestation to 1.13 at term in normals. After 5 weeks of obstruction SM1:SM2 was 1.27 and it was 1.25 at term, indicating an effect on the developmental regulation of smooth muscle. Rapid fill cystometry in vivo measured the rate of stress relaxation to assess accommodative properties. The half-decay time was increased in all 3 obstructed bladders tested to greater than 15 seconds at 50% capacity (normal less than 5 seconds), suggesting reduced compliance. This study shows that an in utero model of bladder obstruction is feasible. Congenital bladder obstruction produces a variety of structural, biochemical and functional changes in the developing bladder indicative of alterations in the regulation of growth and differentiation.