A 'stealth effect': Adenocarcinoma cells engineered to express TRAIL elude tumor-specific and allogeneic T cell reactions

BALB/c mammary adenocarcinoma cells engineered to express TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)/APO-2 ligand (APO-2L) on their membrane (TSA-TRAIL) grow with kinetics similar to that of parental cells (TSA-pc) in vitro and in nu/nu mice. In contrast, TSA-TRAIL cells grow faster than TSA-pc in normal BALB/c mice. In DBA/2 mice, which differ from BALB/c mice at minor histocompatibility Ags, they also grow faster and display a higher percentage of tumor takes than TSA-pc. In fully histoincompatible C57BL/6 (B6) mice, TSA-TRAIL cells form evident tumors that are slowly rejected by most mice, but outgrow in a few. In contrast, TSA-pc cells are rejected at once by B6 mice. Since TRAIL/APO-2L induces apoptosis by interacting with a variety of specific receptors, this rapid growth in both syngeneic and allogeneic mice may be the result of an immunosuppressive mechanism. The following evidence supports this hypothesis: 1) TSA-TRAIL cells overcome the strong immunity against TSA-pc cells elicited in BALB/c mice by preimmunization with TSA cells engineered to release IL-4; 2) their rejection by B6 mice does not prime a CTL-mediated memory; 3) thymidine uptake by T lymphocytes unstimulated or stimulated by allogeneic cells is inhibited when TSA-TRAIL cells are added as third party cells; 4) CTL kill TSA-pc but not TSA-TRAIL cells in 48-h assays; and 5) activated lymphocytes interacting with TSA-TRAIL cells in vivo and in vitro undergo apoptosis.