To analyze the components of
tumor infiltrating T lymphocyte (TIL) cells in
malignant pleural effusion of
lung adenocarcinoma, and evaluate their killing activities to autologous
tumor cells.
Methods:
Malignant pleural effusions were collected from 17 patients with
lung adenocarcinoma. Mononuclear cells were isolated by
Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and flow cytometer was used to analyze TIL cell components. TIL and
tumor cells were separated through adherent culture. The
tumor cells were identified via
intramuscular injection of adherent cells into nude mice and the killing effect of cultured lymphocytes on autologous
tumor cells was studied.
Results: Of the TIL in
malignant pleural effusions, T cells accounted for 60.6%-79.3%, while T helper cells were significantly higher than T killer cells (36.63%±1.90% vs 24.64%±2.32%, P<0.001). There were also natural killer (NK) cells and NK T cells in the effusions.
Tumor cells were successfully isolated and cultured. The killing activity of cultured TIL to autologous
tumor cells was 39.14%±12.04%, and the killing activity of TIL with high proliferation rate to autologous
tumor cells was higher than that of low proliferation group (50.51%±3.80% vs 29.04%±5.77%, P<0.001).
Conclusion: T lymphocytes are the major components of TIL in
malignant pleural effusions derived from
lung adenocarcinoma, and T helper cells are more than T killer cells. The killing activity of TIL with strong proliferation ability to autologous
tumor cells is higher than that of TIL with weak proliferation ability. Therefore, cells from
malignant pleural effusions could be used for cellular
immunotherapy against
tumor.