Involvement of Actin Filaments in the Cytotoxic Effect of GD2-Specific Antibodies

Abstract

Induction of direct cell death is one of the mechanisms of the antitumor effect of GD2-specific antibodies used for the therapy of high-risk neuroblastoma. The mechanisms of the cytotoxic signal triggered by antibody binding to GD2 ganglioside on the surface of the tumor cell remain insufficiently studied. Using inhibitor analysis we demonstrated that actin microfilaments are involved in the cell death induced by GD2-specific antibodies. Specifically, a strong antagonistic influence of cytochalasin D on the cytotoxic effect induced by GD2-specific antibodies was demonstrated in GD2+ tumor cell lines, which was expressed in at least 20% increase in cell survival and a significant decrease of the fraction of cells with fragmented DNA.