Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 28, 2005; 11(16): 2502-2507
Published online Apr 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i16.2502
Effects of dendritic cells from cord blood CD34+ cells on human hepatocarcinoma cell line BEL-7402 in vitro and in SCID mice
Zhong-Jing Su, Hai-Bin Chen, Jin-Kun Zhang, Lan Xu
Zhong-Jing Su, Hai-Bin Chen, Jin-Kun Zhang, Cancer Pathology Laboratory, Department of Histology and Embryology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Lan Xu, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Professor Jin-Kun Zhang, Cancer Pathology Laboratory, Department of Histology and Embryology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China. jkzhang@stu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-754-8900443 Fax: +86-754-8557562
Received: March 3, 2004
Revised: March 4, 2004
Accepted: April 13, 2004
Published online: April 28, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To develop a cancer vaccine of dendritic cells derived from human cord blood CD34+ cells and to investigate its cytotoxicity on human hepatocarcinoma cells in vitro and in sever combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice.

METHODS: Lymphocytes from cord blood or peripheral blood were primed by DCs, which were derived from cord blood and pulsed with whole tumor cell lysates. Nonradiative neutral red uptake assay was adopted to detect the cytotoxicity of primed lymphocytes on human hepatocarcinoma cell line BEL-7402 in vitro. The anti-tumor effect of primed lymphocytes in vivo was detected in SCID mice, including therapeutic effect and vaccination effect.

RESULTS: The cytotoxicity of DC vaccine primed lymphocytes from cord blood or peripheral blood on human hepatoc-arcinoma cell line BEL-7402 was significantly higher than that of unprimed lymphocytes in vitro (44.09% vs 14.69%, 47.92% vs 19.44%, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between the cytotoxicity of primed lymphocytes from cord blood and peripheral blood (P>0.05). The tumor growth rate and tumor size were smaller in SCID mice treated or vaccinated with primed lymphocytes than those with unprimed lymphocytes. SCID mice vaccinated with primed lymphocytes had a lower tumor incidence (80% vs 100%, P<0.05) and delayed tumor latent period compared with mice vaccinated with unprimed lymphocytes (11 d vs 7 d, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION: Vaccine of cord blood derived-DCs has an inhibitory activity on growth of human hepatocarcinoma cells in vitro and in SCID mice. The results also implicate the potential role of cord blood derived-DC vaccine in clinical tumor immunotherapy.

Keywords: Dendritic cells; Hepatocarcinoma