In vivo and in vitro responses to tumor‐associated antigens: Apparent absence of T cell participation

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Abstract
The tumor‐associated antigens of the murine tumors B16, SAD2 and C3HBA readily induced antibody production in vivo, but produced little transplantation immunity. These tumors grew better in normal syngeneic hosts than they did in lethally irradiated or thymectomized lethally irradiated, marrow reconstituted hosts, where they grew equally well. When blood or spleen cells were reacted with anti‐H‐2 sera directed against the responder cells or with anti‐Θ C3H sera and complement and then cultured with irradiated syngeneic tumor cells or extracts of these tumors, the responses to the tumor‐associated antigens and to two thymus‐independent antigens were not impaired; however, the same treatment greatly reduced the responses to allogeneic tumor or spleen cells and to two thymus‐dependent antigens. The observations suggested that the tumor‐associated antigens under study primarily stimulated B rather than T cells.