Aim: To investigate the effect of IFN-alpha on expression of MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA) in the cervical carcinoma cell lines.
Methods: The cervical carcinoma cell lines (HeLa and Caski) were treated with IFN-alpha. The expression of MICA was measured by RT-PCR and by immunohistochemical staining. The cytotoxicity of human NK cells to the IFN-alpha treated cervical carcinoma cells was detected by MTT method.
Results: The mRNA and protein expression of MICA was up-regulated by IFN-alpha in HeLa and Caski cells in a time and dose-dependent manner. Compared to Caski cells which weakly expressed MICA, higher cytolytic activity of NK cells was found against HeLa cells, which expressed relatively higher level of MICA. After being treated with IFN-alpha for 3 d, the susceptibility of the two cervical carcinoma cells to NK cytolysis was increased significantly.
Conclusion: IFN-alpha can up-regulate the MICA expression in the cervical carcinoma cell lines and thereby enhance the susceptibility to cytolysis of NK cells.