The role of NK cells in the control of endogenously arising tumors is still unclear. We monitored activation and effector functions of NK cells in a c‐myc‐transgenic mouse model of spontaneously arising lymphoma. At early stages, tumors demonstrated reduced MHC class I expression and increased expression of natural killer group 2D ligands (NKG2D‐L). NK cells in these tumors showed an activated phenotype that correlated with the loss of tumor MHC class I. With increasing tumor load however, NK‐cell effector functions became progressively paralyzed or exhausted. In later stages of disease, tumors re‐expressed MHC class I and lost NKG2D‐L, suggesting a role of these two signals for NK cell‐mediated tumor control. Testing a panel of lymphoma cell lines expressing various MHC class I and NKG2D‐L levels suggested that NK cell‐dependent tumor control required a priming and a triggering signal that were provided by MHC class I down‐regulation and by NKG2D‐L, respectively. Deleting either of the “two signals” resulted in tumor escape. At early disease stages, immune stimulation through TLR‐ligands in vivo efficiently delayed lymphoma growth in a strictly NK cell‐dependent manner. Thus, NK‐receptor coengagement is crucial for NK‐cell functions in vivo and especially for NK cell‐mediated tumor surveillance.

Keywords: λ-myc mouse r Endogenous B-cell lymphoma r NK-cell activation r NKG2D ligands r Tumor escape Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site

During inflammation and in transplantable tumor models, natural killer (NK) cells are recruited to pathologic tissues and activated to produce proinflammatory cytokines favoring adaptive immune responses of the T-helper type 1 (Th1) type. Interferon (IFN)-γ is needed to induce chemokines that attract NK cells in transplanted tumors. Nothing, however, is known on NK-cell migration in spontaneous tumors. As effective recruitment is a prerequisite for therapeutic NK-cell transfer, we investigated the cytokine milieu and the mechanisms that are instrumental for NK-cell accumulation in an endogenous tumor model. We make use of λ-myc transgenic mice that harbor the c-myc oncogene and develop spontaneous B-cell lymphoma. In contrast to lymphomas induced by tumor cell injection, virtually no IFN-γ produced by NK or by other cells was present in the tumor environment, particularly in advanced stages. Dendritic cells showed an impaired expression of interleukin-12, which is suggestive of deficient Th1 priming. The IFN-γ-dependent chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 were pivotal for NK-cell migration in the endogenous lymphoma model. Although IFN-γ was absent in late tumor stages, there was still expression of CXCL9 and CXCL10 with an ongoing influx of NK cells. The results demonstrate that transplantable tumor models do not reflect the situation as found in endogenously arising neoplasia, because in the latter, effective Th1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses are presumably not induced because of impaired IFN-γ production. The data also suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL10 production and NK-cell migration become independent of IFN-γ during tumor progression, and therefore support approaches of adoptive NK-cell transfer that hold promise for treatment of cancer.

Costimulatory surface molecules and instructive cytokines expressed by dendritic cells (DCs) determine the outcome of an immune response. In malignant disease, DCs are often functionally compromised. In most tumors studied so far, the deficient induction of effective T cell responses has been associated with a blockade of DC maturation, but little has been known on DCs infiltrating malignant B cell lymphoma. Here, we investigated for the first time the phenotypic and functional status of DCs in B cell lymphoma, and we analyzed the network of DCs, tumor cells, natural killer (NK) cells and cytokines present in the tumor micromilieu. Therefor, we used an endogenous myc-transgenic mouse lymphoma model, because transplanted tumor cells foster an IFN-γ-driven Th1 antitumor response rather than an immunosuppressive environment, which is observed in autochthonous neoplasias. Lymphoma-infiltrating DCs showed a mature phenotype and a Th2-inducing cytokine pattern. This situation is in contrast to most human malignancies and mouse models described. Cellular contacts between DCs and tumor cells, which involved CD62L on the lymphoma, caused upregulation of costimulatory molecules, whereas IL-10 primarily derived from lymphoma cells induced an IL-12/IL-10 shift in DCs. Thus, alteration of costimulatory molecules and instructive cytokines was mediated by distinct mechanisms. Normal NK cells were able to additionally modulate DC maturation but this effect was absent in the lymphoma environment where IFN-γ production by NK cells was severely impaired. These data are relevant for establishing novel immunotherapeutic approaches against B cell lymphoma.