Comparative Analysis of Tumor- Infiltrating Lymphocytes in a Syngeneic Mouse Model of Oral Cancer

ObjectiveTo perform a comparative analysis of infiltrating immune cells in a newly developed C57BL/6 background syngeneic transplantable mouse oral cancer (MOC) model.Study Design/SettingScientific study in an academic medical center.MethodsUse of carcinogen-induced tumorigenesis, tissue culture, cell line transplantation, and flow cytometric analysis techniques.ResultsPreviously, the authors established a series of cell line models that displayed dichotomous growth phenotypes when transplanted into immunocompetent mice. They now show that the indolent growth pattern of the MOC1-generated tumors is associated with increased baseline and inducible major histocompatibility complex class I expression and increased CD8+ T-cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. Conversely, the aggressive and metastatic pattern of MOC2-generated tumors has decreased basal and inducible class I expression and is associated with FOXP3+CD4+ regulatory T-cell infiltration. Delayed primary tumor growth after targeted mon...