Prophylactic, therapeutic and anti-metastatic effects of BMDC and DC lines in mice carrying HPV 16-associated tumours.

Abstract Oncogenic, moderately immunogenic MK16/1/IIIABC (MK16) cells were previously established by co-transfection of HPV 16 E6/E7 and activated H-ras oncogene DNA into C57BL/6 kidney cells. Subcutaneous transplantation of the MK16 cells produced progressively growing neoplasms which metastasized spontaneously to lungs. In this communication we report that prophylactic administration of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) as well as dendritic cell (DC) lines DC2.4 and JAWS II at the site of subsequent MK16 tumour transplants inhibited tumour growth and reduced the number of lung metastases. Similarly, in therapeutic experiments, administration of BMDC and DC lines at the site of the growing MK16 tumours or at the site of MK16 tumour residua after surgery inhibited tumour growth. Both BMDC-based vaccines and vaccines based on DC lines had also an antimetastatic effect. These results indicate that the DC line-based vaccines, which represent a standard, well-characterized and more homogeneous material, technically easier to prepare than the fresh BMDC-based vaccines, can be utilized for therapy of surgical minimal residual disease in HPV 16-associated neoplasms and are prospective for relevant clinical trials.