T cell-mediated antitumor immune response eliminates skin tumors induced by mouse papillomavirus, MmuPV1

Abstract Previous studies of naturally occurring mouse papillomavirus (PV) MmuPV1-induced tumors in B6.Cg- Foxn1 nu/nu mice suggest that T cell deficiency is necessary and sufficient for the development of such tumors. To confirm this, MmuPV1-induced tumors were transplanted from T cell-deficient mice into immunocompetent congenic mice. Consequently, the tumors regressed and eventually disappeared. The elimination of MmuPV1-infected skin/tumors in immunocompetent mice was consistent with the induction of antitumor T cell immunity. This was confirmed by adoptive cell experiments using hyperimmune splenocytes collected from graft-recipient mice. In the present study, such splenocytes were injected into T cell-deficient mice infected with MmuPV1, and they eliminated both early-stage and fully formed tumors. We clearly show that anti-tumor T cell immunity activated during tumor regression in immunocompetent mice effectively eliminates tumors developing in T cell-deficient congenic mice. The results corroborate the notion that PV-induced tumors are strongly linked to the immune status of the host, and that PV antigens are major anti-tumor antigens. Successful anti-PV T cell responses should, therefore, lead to effective anti-tumor immune therapy in human PV-infected patients.