SUMMARYIntravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy is highly eflfective in the therapy of carcinoma in situ of the bladder, but the mechanism of BCG immunotherapy is not clearly understood. We studied the production of TNF-n in spleens and bladders ofmice after intravesical BCG or BCG/interferon-gamma (iFN--}) instillation. Significant change of TNF-a mRNA expression of spleens and bladders of C3H/He mice was observed after intravesical BCG instillation, although intravesical IFN-7 therapy 3 days after BCG instillation to maintain the activated state of monocyte/macrophage lineage cells did not show a significant change of TNF-a mRNA, compared with that of BCG therapy alone. Maximal production of TNF-a mRNA in spleens of mice was seen after the first or second intravesical BCG instillation, and production of TNF-fi mRNA in bladders was also increased after intravesical BCG instillation. The increment of TNF-rt production by BCG stimulation in HL-60. a promyelocytic leukaemic cell line, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro may support Ihe in vivo effect of BCG therapy on the bladder. These data show that local production of TNF-a as well as systemic production by intravesical BCG treatment may correlate with one of the mechanisms of BCG immunotherapy of superficial bladder cancer.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.