Idiotype-Pulsed Dendritic Cells Are Able To Induce Anti-Tumoral Cytotoxic Cd8 Cells In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Idiotypic structures of immunoglobulins from malignant B cells constitute tumour-specific antigens, though the function of immunoglobulin-specific CD8(+) T cells in disease control and rejection remains unclear. We have studied five cases of B chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients affected with indolent (three patients) or aggressive (two patients) disease. We showed that CD8(+) T cells with major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxicity against autologous tumour B cells could be generated following repeated stimulations with idiotype-pulsed dendritic cells in vitro . CD8(+) T-cell lines were able to upregulate CD69 expression and to release interferon (IFN)-gamma upon contact with the autologous B cells, though cytolytic activity was only substantiated for patients with indolent disease. The failure of cytolytic activity in patients with aggressive disease may be explained by a skewed maturation of memory CD8 cells.