Study on the antitumor effects of autologous and allogeneic CIK cells in patients with breast cancer*

Abstract

Abstract Objective This study aimed to compare the anti-tumor effects of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells induced by autologous cytokines in patients with breast cancer and those of allogeneic CIK cells from healthy adults. Methods We used conventional methods to induce CIK cells originating from two peripheral blood mononuclear cell types (from patients with breast cancer and healthy adults). Killing activity was detected using an LDH assay, immunophenotypic changes were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the IFN-γ level of culture supernatants was detected by ELISA. Results The results showed that the proliferative capacity of the allogeneic CIK cells was significantly higher than that of the autologous CIK cells. Compared with autologous CIK cells, the allogeneic CIK cells had significantly enhanced anti-tumor activity against SKBR-3 cells (P < 0.01) and IFN-γ secretion (P < 0.05); moreover, they increased the ratio of CD3+ CD56+ cells and CD3+ CD8+ cells (P < 0.05). Conclusion Healthy adult-derived induced CIK cells exhibited a stronger anti-tumor effect than induced CIK cells derived from patients with breast cancer. The results of this study could provide experimental evidence for the clinical application of CIK cells.