To improve the potential treatment strategies of incurable
renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which is highly resistant to
chemotherapy and
radiotherapy, the present study established a combination
therapy with immunostimulatory factor (ISTF) and anti-4-1BB
monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to augment the antitumor response in a murine RCC model. ISTF isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans stimulates macrophages, dendritic cells and B cells to produce
IL-6, TNF-α,
nitric oxide and major histocompatibility complex class II expression. 4-1BB (CD137) is expressed in activated immune cells, including activated T cells, and is a promising target for
cancer immunotherapy. The administration of anti-4-1BB mAbs promoted antitumor immunity via enhancing CD11c+CD8+ T cells. The CD11c+CD8+ T cells were characterized by high killing activity and IFN-γ-producing ability, representing a phenotype of active effector cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The present study showed that combination
therapy with ISTF and anti-4-1BB mAbs promoted partial
tumor regression with established RCC, but monotherapy with ISTF or anti-4-1BB mAbs did not. These effects were speculated to be caused by the increase in CD11c+CD8+ T cells in the spleen and
tumor, and IFN-γ production. These insights into the effector mechanisms of the combination of ISTF and anti-4-1BB mAbs may be useful for targeting incurable RCC.