Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2013
Journal/Book/Conference Title
PLOS ONE
Volume
8
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0082544
Date of Submission
November 2014
Abstract
During the past decade, the dual function of the immune system in tumor inhibition and tumor progression has become appreciated. We have previously reported that neu-specific T cells can induce rejection of neu positive mouse mammary carcinoma (MMC) and also facilitate tumor relapse by inducing neu antigen loss and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, we sought to determine the mechanism by which CD8+ T cells either eliminate the tumor, or maintain tumor cells in a dormant state and eventually facilitate tumor relapse. We show that tumor cells that express high levels of IFN-γ Rα are eliminated by CD8+ T cells. In contrast, tumor cells that express low levels of IFN-γ Rα do not die but remain dormant and quiescent in the presence of IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells until they hide themselves from the adaptive immune system by losing the tumor antigen, neu. Relapsed tumor cells show CD44+CD24- phenotype with higher rates of tumorigenesis, in vivo. Acquisition of CD44+CD24- phenotype in relapsed tumors was not solely due to Darwinian selection. Our data suggest that tumor cells control the outcome of tumor immune surveillance through modulation of the expression of IFN-γ Rα.
Rights
© 2013 Kmieciak et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Is Part Of
VCU Microbiology and Immunology Publications
Supporting Information
Comments
Originally published at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082544