Isolation and Expansion of Cytotoxic Cytokine-induced Killer T Cells for Cancer Treatment

Summary

Here, we present a protocol to perform the isolation and expansion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells-derived cytokine-induced CD3⁺CD56⁺ killer cells and illustrate their cytotoxicity effect against hematological and solid cancer cells by using an in vitro diagnosis flow cytometry system.

Abstract

Adoptive cellular immunotherapy focuses on restoring cancer recognition via the immune system and improves effective tumor cell killing. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) T cell therapy has been reported to exert significant cytotoxic effects against cancer cells and to reduce the adverse effects of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy in cancer treatments. CIK can be derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood. CIK cells are a heterogeneous subpopulation of T cells with CD3⁺CD56⁺ and natural killer (NK) phenotypic characteristics that include major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-unrestricted antitumor activity. This study describes a qualified, clinically applicable, flow cytometry-based method for the quantification of the cytolytic capability of PBMC-derived CIK cells against hematological and solid cancer cells. In the cytolytic assay, CIK cells are co-incubated at different ratios with prestained target tumor cells. After the incubation period, the number of target cells are determined by a nucleic acid-binding stain to detect dead cells. This method is applicable to both research and diagnostic applications. CIK cells possess potent cytotoxicity that could be explored as an alternative strategy for cancer treatment upon its preclinical evaluation by a cytometer setup and tracking (CS & T)-based flow cytometry system.

Introduction

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are a specific immune effector cell population that mediates immune responses against cancer. Several effector cell populations including lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), natural killer (NK) cells, γδ T cells, and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have been developed for adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) purposes¹. There is a growing interest in CIK cells, because they represent a mixture of cytokine-induced cytotoxic cell populations expanded from autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)².

The uncontro....

Protocol

The clinical protocol was performed and approved in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Review Board of the China Medical University and Hospital Research Ethics Committee. Peripheral blood specimens were harvested from healthy volunteers with their informed consent.

1. Preparation of materials

1. Store reagents, antibodies, and chemicals as shown in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Dissolve the drugs or cytokines in solvents as stock solutions and then aliquot f.......

Discussion

The described method is a fast, convenient, and reliable protocol for the isolation and expansion of cytotoxic cytokine-induced killer (CIK) T cells from whole blood samples of healthy donors. It also shows the cytotoxic effect of CIK against leukemia (K562) and ovarian cancer cells (OC-3) using a flow cytometry setup and tracking (CS & T) system. CIK cells can be induced and expanded in good manufactory practices (GMP) conditions by using GMP-grade cytokines and serum-free medium for further clinical infusion

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
7-Amino Actinomycin D	BD	559925
APC Mouse Anti-Human CD56 antibody	BD	555518	B159
APC Mouse IgG1, κ Isotype Control	BD	555751	MOPC-21
BD FACSCanto II Flow Cytometer	BD	338962		SN: R33896202856
Carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE)	BD	565082		Reconstritution of CFSE dye (500 mg) with 90 mL of DMSO
D-(+)-Glucose solution	SIGMA	G8644		For K562 cell culture. Add 12.5 mL to 500 mL of complete medium
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/F12	HyClone	SH30023.02		Basal medium for OC-3 cell culture
Fetal bovine serum	HyClone	SH30084.03		For K562 and OC-3 cell culture. Complete medium contains 10% of FBS
Ficoll-Paque Plus	GE Healthcare Life Sciences	71101700-EK		Density gradient solution
FITC Mouse Anti-Human CD3 antibody	BD	555332	UCHT1
FITC Mouse IgG1, κ Isotype Control	BD	555748	MOPC-21
Human anti-CD3 mAb	TaKaRa	T210	OKT3	Add 2.5 mL of stock (1 mg/1 mL) to 50 mL of Induction medium. Storage stock at -80 °C
Penicillin-Streptomycin	Gibco	15140122		Add 5 mL of stock (10,000 U/mL) to 500 mL of complete medium. Storage stock at 4 °C.
Proleukin	NOVARTIS			Reconstitution of Proleukin Powder (22x106 IU) with 1.2 mL of sterile water and add 2.7 mL to 50 mL of Induction medium. Storage stock at -20 °C
Recombinant Human Interferon-gamma	CellGenix	1425-050		Reconstitution of rh IFN-g (5x105 IU/50 µg) with 200 µL of sterile water and add 20 mL to 50 mL of Induction medium. Storage stock at -20 °C
Recombinant Human Interleukin-1 alpha	PEPROTECH	200-01A		Reconstitution rh IL-1α (10 µg) with 1 mL of sterile water and add 5 mL to 50 mL of Induction medium. Storage stock at -20 °C
RPMI1640 medium	Gibco	11875-085		Basal medium for K562 cell culture. Storage stock at 4 °C
Sigma 3-18K Centrifuge	Sigma	10295
TrypLE Express Enzyme	Gibco	12605028		Cell dissociation enzyme; For deattachment of adheren cells. Storage at room temperature
X-VIVO 15 medium	Lonza	04-418Q		Basal medium for PBMC and CIK cells. Storage at 4 °C