Pyruvate kinase inhibited by L-cysteine as a marker of tumorigenic human urothelial cell lines.

It was found that a decrease in electrophoretic mobility of pyruvate kinase (PK) isoenzyme, and an increase of the sensitivity of this enzyme to L-cysteine, were markers of immortalization and tumorigenic properties, respectively, in human urothelial cell lines characterized by different grades of transformation (TGr) in vitro.

The Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen on human urothelial cell lines detectable by peanut lectin and monoclonal antibody raised against human glycophorin A.

The Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) antigen is a cryptic disaccharide structure on human erythrocytes which can be exposed by neuraminidase treatment and which is supposed to be expressed in an unmasked form on some carcinoma cells. For its detection in addition to auto-, allo- and heteroantisera, PNA (peanut lectin) is being applied. In the present studies the mouse monoclonal antibody (MoAb) raised to asialoglycophorin from human erythrocytes was used.

Defect in lectin-induced interleukin 2 production by peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with invasive urinary bladder carcinoma.

The production of interleukin 2 (IL-2) by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 21 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder (BTCC) and 16 control blood donors was measured with a solid phase enzyme immunoassay based on the dual antibody immunometric sandwich principle. PBMC from patients with invasive BTCC (grade III-IV) showed a defect in the production of IL-2. The concentration of IL-2 in the supernatants of PBMC cultures from these patients was substantially lower (0.

Correlation between classification of human urothelial cell lines and HLA-A,B,C expression.

Quantitative changes in major histocompatibility class I antigen expression in tumour cells are believed to affect the host immune response against the tumour. In tumourigenic (TGrIII) human urothelial cell lines the apparent loss of polymorphic HLA-A,B epitopes has previously been demonstrated. In the present study, 3 non-tumourigenic (TGrII) and 6 tumourigenic (TGrIII) human urothelial cell lines have been investigated for their quantitative expression of monomorphic HLA-A,B,C and B2-microglobulin.

In vitro studies of human bladder cancer.

Explantation and cultivation in vitro of 55 human biopsies of histologically normal urothelial tissue, and 63 biopsies from transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) revealed a primary success rate of about 75% and a secondary success rate of about 50% with no significant differences, between normal and TCC derived cultures. While only half of the subcultured biopsies of normal origin were able to grow for more than 4 passages all TCC derived cultures were able to do so. Based on morphology, life span, invasive growth into co-cultured fragments of embryonic chick heart, and tumorigenicity in nude mice the following transformation grades (TGr) were defined: Normal (TGr 0), non-malignant with prolonged, but finite life span (TGr I), premalignant with infinite life span but without tumorigenic and invasive potential (TGr II), malignant with infinite life span and tumorigenic and invasive properties (TGr III).

Recombinant interleukin-2 inhibits growth of human tumor xenografts in congenitally athymic mice.

Administration of human recombinant interleukin-2 (RIL-2) into congenitally athymic (nu/nu) mice carrying subcutaneous transplants of HeLa, HU 609T and T24B human carcinoma cells partially inhibited growth of the human tumor xenografts. In vitro activation of nu/nu spleen cells with human RIL-2 resulted in generation of killer cells showing in the 51Cr cytotoxicity assay similar levels of cytolysis as RIL-2-activated spleen cells from heterozygous (nu/+) mice. The RIL-2-activated (LAK) cells were cytotoxic for a variety of mouse and human tumors, reaching the peak of their cytotoxic activity after 3 days of cultivation in the RIL-2-containing medium.

Activation of killer cells from blood of urinary bladder carcinoma patients by short-term treatment with recombinant interleukin 2.

Highly purified recombinant human interleukin 2 induced cytotoxicity of lymphocytes from urinary bladder carcinoma patients and from control healthy donors when added during an 18-h 51Cr microcytotoxicity assay against bladder carcinoma (T24) target cells. Similar levels of killer cell activation were detected in mononuclear cell preparations from bladder carcinoma patients and control healthy donors; hence, no defect in the responsiveness of bladder carcinoma patients' lymphocytes to interleukin 2 could be observed. The effect of the recombinant interleukin 2 was dose-dependent.