Volume 119, Issue 12 pp. 2861-2869
Tumor Immunology

Melanoma cells interfere with the interaction of dendritic cells with NK/LAK cells

Annalisa Capobianco

Annalisa Capobianco

Department of Oncology, Cancer Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Program, Clinical Immunology Unit, H San Raffaele Scientific Institute & Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Patrizia Rovere-Querini

Patrizia Rovere-Querini

Department of Oncology, Cancer Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Program, Clinical Immunology Unit, H San Raffaele Scientific Institute & Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Claudio Rugarli

Claudio Rugarli

Department of Oncology, Cancer Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Program, Clinical Immunology Unit, H San Raffaele Scientific Institute & Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Angelo A. Manfredi

Corresponding Author

Angelo A. Manfredi

Department of Oncology, Cancer Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Program, Clinical Immunology Unit, H San Raffaele Scientific Institute & Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy

Fax: +39-02-2643-4786

H San Raffaele DIBIT 3A1, via Olgettina 58, Milano 20132, ItalySearch for more papers by this author
First published: 26 October 2006
Citations: 13

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) and natural killer (NK) cells are key players at the interface between innate resistance and acquired immunity. NK cells can induce DC maturation, a differentiation process whereby DCs respond to a environmental stimulus and acquire the ability of eliciting adaptive immunity. Conversely, maturing DCs promote NK functions in vivo and in vitro. This interplay has important consequences on the immune response to pathogens and possibly to neoplastic cells. Here, we show that B16 melanoma cells actively modulate the interaction between DCs derived from bone marrow precursors and NK/LAK cells propagated from the spleen of C57BL/6 mice. DCs increased in a dose-dependent manner the ability of NK/LAK cells to kill melanoma cells and to produce cytokines. This activatory cross-talk entailed the production of IL-18 by DCs and of IFN-γ by NK/LAK cells. Melanoma cells were not a passive target of NK activity; they regulated the outcome of the interaction between DCs and NK/LAK cells, inhibiting the in vitro production of cytokines as effectively as the genetic deletion of IL-18 or IFN-γ. Interference with the NK/DC interaction possibly represents a mechanism used by growing tumors to evade the immune response. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.