IDENTIFICATION OF TUMOR SPECIFIC T LYMPHOCYTES FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF CANCER

尽管有可能分离出对自体肿瘤细胞具有特异性细胞毒性的T淋巴细胞克隆，但所涉及的技术是费力的。 特异性细胞毒性T细胞（CTL）的更方便的测定将简化对肿瘤的免疫应答的研究，并将促进正在接受免疫治疗（例如肿瘤疫苗治疗）的癌症患者中的全身免疫应答的研究。 新的ELISPOT测定法使用来自患者的外周血T细胞，所述外周血T细胞通过在体外暴露于来自同一患者的癌症的手术获得的样品的膜而被刺激。 在先前的研究中，我们已经表明，用细胞膜刺激小鼠和人的T细胞是有效和特异的。 我们还观察到，接受一系列癌症疫苗接种方案的患者的T细胞可以被来自这些患者癌症的膜特异性刺激。 在本研究中，我们将把这种分析扩展到更多的癌症患者，这些患者患有更广泛的癌症，并且处于不同的阶段，以建立评估对肿瘤的免疫反应的基线。

Although it is possible to isolate clones of T-lymphocytes which have specific cytotoxicity directed against autologous tumor cells, the techniques involved are laborious. More convenient assays for specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) would simplify the study of immune response to tumors and would facilitate the investigation of systemic immune responses in cancer patients who are undergoing immunotherapy such as tumor vaccine therapy. The novel ELISPOT assay uses peripheral blood T-cells from patients which are stimulated by exposure in vitro to membranes derived from a surgically obtained sample of the same patient's cancer. In a previous we have shown that stimulation of T-cells of mice and men with cellular membranes is effective and specific. We have also observed that T-cells of patients undergoing a vaccination protocol with an array of cancers could be stimulated specifically by the membranes derived from those patients' cancers. In the present study we will expand this analysis to a larger number of cancer patients with a broader variety of cancers, and at different stages, to establish a baseline for evaluating immune response to tumors.