In vitro induction of α-fetoprotein antigen epitope α-fetoprotein158-166-specific T cells

Objective To stimulate the α-fetoprotein (AFP)158-166-specific T cells in vitro and evaluate their specific cytotoxicity for AFP+ hepatic carcinoma cells.Methods HLA-A0201 genotype carriers were selected as blood donors by using flow cytometry and PCR-SSP from 20 healthy volunteers.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were harvested from 50 mL peripheral blood of each donor and cultured with cytokines to induce dendritic cells (DCs).Donor lymphocytes were cultured with AFP158-166-loaded DCs at the ratio of 10∶ 1.Proliferative lymphocytes were collected and the cytotoxicity for hepatoma carcinoma cells (HepG2),AFP158-166 loaded T2 cells and naive T2 cells was analyzed by using methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay.Results The positive rate of DCs surface antigens CD83,CD80 and CD86 was (81.3 ±2.4) ％,(92.8 ± 1.4) ％ and (70.5 ± 1.9) ％ respectively.The cytotoxicity of AFP158-166-specific T cells to HepG2,AFP158-166 loaded T2 and naive T2 cells was (61.1 ± 3.4) ％,(70.6 ± 2.4) ％ and (16.3 ±2.7) ％ respectively at the effector-target ratio of 40∶ 1.Conclusion The AFP158-166-specific T cells can be induced in vitro from the peripheral blood of healthy donors and have specific cytotoxicity for HepG2 and AFP158-66 loaded T2 cells. Key words: α-fetoprotein ;  Dendritic cells;  T Cells ;  Carcinoma,hepatocellular