Primary melanoma cell lines vary in glycolytic activity

Some patients with metastatic melanoma respond very well to adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) based on re-infusion of autologous, ex vivo-expanded tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs) plus interleukin-2 (IL-2). However, responses are highly variable. We found that glycolysis in primary melanoma tumor cell lines, as measured by metabolic assays or expression of glycolysis genes, was strongly associated with clinical resistance of the corresponding patients' tumor to ACT. Primary tumors of metastatic melanoma were obtained for a phase II study (NCT00338377) evaluating autologous TILs plus high-dose IL-2. Primary tumor cell lines were established from 15 of these samples, and were used for gene expression profiling as well as for determination of extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) with a Seahorse XF96 analyzer.