Objective: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of dendritic cell–tumor fusion hybrids against a murine squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)
Design: Squamous cell carcinoma VII is a poorly immunogenic murine SCC in C3H (H-2K) mice. Subdermal tumors were established by inoculation in the midabdomen of mice. Tumor diameter were measured with a Veneer caliper and used as an indication of treatment efficacy. Dendritic cells were generated from bone marrow cells, cultured with cytokines for 8 days, harvested, and mixed with cultured tumor cells in a 1:1 ratio. Cell fusion was achieved by exposing the cell mixture to an alternate electrical current to bring cells into alignment and close together, followed by a short direct electrical current pulse.