The Absence or Overexpression of IL-15 Drastically Alters Breast Cancer Metastasis via Effects on NK Cells, CD4 T Cells, and Macrophages

IL-15 is a cytokine that can affect many immune cells, including NK cells and CD8 T cells. In several tumor models, IL-15 delays primary tumor formation and can prevent or reduce metastasis. In this study, we have employed a model of breast cancer metastasis to examine the mechanism by which IL-15 affects metastasis. When breast tumor cells were injected i.v. into IL-15−/−, C57BL/6, IL-15 transgenic (TG) and IL-15/IL-15Rα–treated C57BL/6 mice, there were high levels of metastasis in IL-15−/− mice and virtually no metastasis in IL-15 TG or IL-15–treated mice. In fact, IL-15−/− mice were 10 times more susceptible to metastasis, whereas IL-15 TG mice were at least 10 times more resistant to metastasis when compared with control C57BL/6 mice. Depletion of NK cells from IL-15 TG mice revealed that these cells were important for protection from metastasis. When NK cells were depleted from control C57BL/6 mice, these mice did not form as many metastatic foci as IL-15−/− mice, suggesting that other cell types may be contributing to metastasis in the absence of IL-15. We then examined the role of CD4 T cells and macrophages. In IL-15−/− mice, in vivo depletion of CD4 T cells decreased metastasis. The lack of IL-15 in IL-15−/− mice, and possibly the Th2-polarized CD4 T cells, was found to promote the formation of M2 macrophages that are thought to contribute to metastasis formation. This study reveals that whereas IL-15 effects on NK cells are important, it also has effects on other immune cells that contribute to metastasis.