Mechanism of rejection of virus persistently infected tumor cells by athymic nude mice

Cell lines known to be tumorigenic in the nude mouse were modified by rendering them persistently infected (P.I.) with a variety of RNA viruses, including measles, mumps, vesicular stomatitis virus, and influenza. Although as few as 100 HeLa or BHK cells produced tumors in 100% of nude mice, as many as 2 x 10(7) of the same cells P.I. with viruses failed to produce tumors. An active host response responsible for restricting the growth of the P.I. cells was suggested by the findings of marked mononuclear cell infiltrates at the inoculation sites and the inability of irradiated nude mice to reject them. An analysis of the in vitro cytotoxic activity of spleen cells from normal nude mice indicated that: (a) P.I. cell lines, but not uninfected cell lines, were susceptible to spontaneous cytotoxicity; (b) in vivo inoculation of P.I. lines induced an enhanced cytotoxic activity for P.I. targets in vitro, and this induction was not specific either for inducing virus or cell line; and (c) the effector cell had the characteristics for natural killer (NK) cells. Although the specificity of recognition of the various P.I. cell lines remains unclear, cold competition experiments indicated that blocking the killing of one P.I. cell line, e.g. HeLa-measles, could be achieved only by unlabeled homologous cells, i.e. HeLa-measles, and not by uninfected cells or other P.I. lines. A variant subline of BHK cells P.I. with VSV was selected for its ability to withstand the rejection process in nude mice. These cells formed metastatic and invasive tumors in nude mice. Although they were the most potent inducers in vivo of NK cell activity against various P.I. targets, they were the most resistant of the P.I. lines to NK cell cytotoxicity in vitro. In this system there was a good correlation between tumor rejection in vivo and susceptibility to NK cells in vitro. The present results suggest that NK cells may play a significant role in both rejection of tumor cells, and in resistance to viruses, particularly persistent infections.