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Modification of the immunogenic properties of chemically induced tumors arising in hosts treated concomitantly with ultraviolet light

Journal Article · · J. Immunol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6865916
Experiments were conducted to determine whether the immunogenic properties of tumors induced in mice possessing a specific state of immunologic unresponsiveness were different from those that were generated in normal mice. Several parameters related to tumor induction by chemical carcinogens in mice exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) were studied. In addition to observed reduced latency periods for tumors induced by benz(a)pyrene and methylcholantrene (MCA) in mice pretreated wth UV, the secondary growth charateristics of the MCA tumors generated in these hosts were dissimilar from those that arose in normal animals. Contrary to the notion that most chemically induced tumors are capable of progressive growth when transplanted into normal syngeneic hosts, a high proportion of the MCA tumors induced in UV-treated mice were highly antigenic. Our data sugest that the immunogenic properties of a tumor may be influenced by the immunologic status of the host at the time of tumor development. Thus, it might be postulated that a pre-existing immunoregulatory response toward a particular antigenic determinant may occlude the immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate certain nascent tumor cells that also express that antigen.
Research Organization:
Utah Univ., Salt Lake City
OSTI ID:
6865916
Journal Information:
J. Immunol.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Immunol.; (United States) Vol. 125:1; ISSN JOIMA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English