Premium
Cellular and humoral immunity against human malignant melanoma
Author(s) -
Fossati Giuseppe,
Colnaghi Maria I.,
Porta Giuseppe Della,
Cascinelli Natale,
Veronesi Umberto
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910080221
Subject(s) - melanoma , antigen , immunofluorescence , immunology , cytotoxicity , antibody , humoral immunity , cellular immunity , biology , immunity , cytotoxic t cell , immune system , effector , medicine , cancer research , in vitro , biochemistry
The humoral and cellular immunological responses of melanoma patients against tumor‐associated antigens were studied by means of the indirect membrane immunofluorescence test and a microassay for cell‐mediated cytotoxicity. Melanoma target cells obtained from 22 different surgical specimens were used. A total of 15 different sera were tested in 27 fluorescence assays. Humoral antibodies were found in all the 13 autochthonous sera tested: eight out of ten sera cross‐reacted with one or two allogeneic melanoma cells. The 31 microassays performed with lymphocytes from 16 patients showed that effector cells specifically killed the melanoma target cells in seven out of 12 autochthonous tests and in 14 out of 19 allogeneic tests. No cytotoxicity was found when melanoma‐patient lymphocytes were tested against control cells or when control lymphocytes were tested against melanoma cells. The observed cross‐reactivity pattern indicates that more than one tumor‐specific antigen may be present in melanoma cells.