Science, Vol 239, Issue 4838, 395-398
Copyright © 1988 by American Association for the Advancement of Science
Hormone conjugated with antibody to CD3 mediates cytotoxic T cell lysis of human melanoma cells
MA Liu,
Nussbaum SR,
and
HN Eisen
Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes can be activated by antibodies to their antigen-specific receptor complex (TCR-CD3) to destroy target cells, regardless of the specificity of the cytotoxic T cells. A novel hormone-antibody conjugate, consisting of an analog of melanocyte-stimulating hormone chemically coupled to a monoclonal antibody to CD3, the invariant component of the T cell receptor complex, was used to target human melanoma cells for destruction by human cytotoxic T lymphocytes that bear no specificity for the tumor cells. As targeting components of such anti-CD3 conjugates, hormones or growth factors are expected to prove more effective than antibodies to tumor-associated antigens in focusing the destructive activity of cytotoxic T cells on tumor target cells.
