Role of tumor-derived cytokines on the immune system of mice bearing a mammary adenocarcinoma: II. Down-regulation of macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity by tumor-derived granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Eduardo M. Sotomayor, Yang Xin Fu, Mayra Lopez-Cepero, Lynn Herbert, Joaquin J. Jimenez, Cesar Albarracin, Diana M. Lopez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Scopus citations

Abstract

Peritoneal elicited macrophages (PEM) from mammary tumor-bearing mice have a decreased capacity to become cytotoxic against syngeneic, allogeneic, and xenogeneic target cells upon in vitro stimulation with LPS, as compared with PEM of normal mice. A regulatory mechanism other than PG release is suggested because the addition of both indomethacin and LPS to macrophage cultures from tumor-bearing mice caused no changes in their cytotoxic capability. Because tumor products have been implicated in the down-regulation of immune responses, we investigated whether pretreatment with supernatants from the tumor cell line DA-3, derived from the in vivo mammary adenocarcinoma D1-DMBA-3, affects the cytolytic capacity of macrophages. This treatment inhibits, in a dose-dependent fashion, the ability of stimulated normal PEM to kill target cells. Partial purification of DA-3 cell line supernatant showed that most of the inhibitory activity was exerted by factors with a molecular mass >10 kDa and <30 kDa. However, slight inhibition could also be observed with fractions containing molecules <10 kDa. The data suggest that more than one factor released by the mammary tumor cells may be involved in the down-regulation of macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity. Because the DA-3 cells constitutively produce granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), which has a molecular mass of 27 kDa, we pretreated PEM from normal mice in vitro with rGM-CSF for 24 h. This resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in their capacity to kill tumor target cells upon LPS stimulation. Furthermore, PEM from normal mice injected with rGM-CSF for 25 days displayed a profound decrease in their cytolytic ability against DA-3 targets upon in vitro stimulation with increasing amounts of LPS. The pretreatment of PEM from normal mice with a combination of DA-3 cell supernatants and specific anti-GM-CSF partially neutralized the inhibitory effect of the DA-3 supernatant on macrophage tumoricidal capability. These results indicate that tumor-derived GM-CSF is an important factor involved in the decreased macrophage cytotoxicity during mammary adenocarcinoma progression.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2816-2823
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Immunology
Volume147
Issue number8
StatePublished - Oct 15 1991

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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