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. 1995 Jan;41(1):61–67. doi: 10.1007/BF01788961

Lymphocytes infiltrating colorectal cancer have low proliferative capacity but can secrete normal levels of interferon γ

Wendy J Bateman 1,✉, Imelda Donnellan 2, Ian A Fraser 3, Ling S Wong 3, Alan G Morris 1
PMCID: PMC11037608  PMID: 7641220

Abstract

Significant numbers of infiltrating mononuclear cells are commonly observed in solid tumours, although their role in restricting tumour growth is not clear. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from 38 patients with colorectal cancer, in parallel with peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), were assayed to determine their ability to proliferate in response to concanavalin A (ConA), interleukin-2 (IL-2), ConA+IL-2, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)+ionomycin (IOM), and staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). These reagents were selected to give a range of weak to strong proliferative responses either via or independent of the T cell receptor. Proliferation of TIL was significantly lower than that of PBL in all cultures: ConA (P<0.001), IL-2 (P=0.002), ConA+IL-2 (P<0.001), PMA+IOM (P<0.001), SEB (P=0.002). In addition to the low proliferative capacity of TIL, production of cytokines by TIL may also play a role in control of tumour growth. We have assayed IFNγ production in the supernatants from 16 paired TIL and PBL cultures, and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) in 6 paired cultures. TNFα concentrations were significantly lower in TIL cultures than in PBL cultures stimulated with ConA (P<0.05), but no different in control or IL-2 stimulated cultures. IFNγ levels did not significantly differ between PBL and TIL cultures, indicating that despite the restricted proliferative capacity of TIL, these cells remain capable of secreting significant amounts of IFNγ.

Key words: Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte, Interferon, Colorectal cancer

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