Human tumor‐lymphocyte interaction in vitro. III. T lymphocytes in autologous tumor stimulation (ATS)

The T‐cell nature of the responding cells in autologous tumor stimulation (ATS) was proven by (1) E‐rosette formation of lymphocytes attached to tumor cells during the early period of co‐cultivation; (2) blast‐transformed E‐rosetting cells detectable at the end of the test period (day 6) and (3) the reactivity of T‐enriched lymphocyte subset and unresponsiveness of T‐depleted fractions. Preparation of tumor suspensions devoid of lymphocytes made it possible to carry out cross‐tests between patients. Blastogenesis with allogeneic tumors was rare. The restricted autologous nature of the reaction is a strong indication for genuine tumor‐relatedness.