MODULATION OF NATURAL KILLING ACTIVITY BY LYMPHOBLASTOID INTERFERON IN CANCER-PATIENTS

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 2  (2) , 151-165
Abstract
The in vivo and in vitro effects of partially purified human lymphoblastoid .alpha.-interferon (.alpha.-IFN) on natural killing (NK) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) of peripheral blood were tested in 17 cancer patients. The study tested single doses of .alpha.-IFN (part A), and repeated, incremental doses (15 over 5 wk; part B). The initial response to .alpha.-IFN was a decline in NK and ADCC activity, reaching a nadir at 12 h. The decline was partly related to nonadherent suppressor cells. The NK activity generally returned to or exceeded baseline within 24-48 h and stayed elevated for a week or more after a single injection. The decline in NK activity was not unique to the 1st injection, but was found even in chronic treatment 12 h after .alpha.-IFN injection. Dose-response studies showed that maximum stimulation was achieved by the end of the 1st week, when it was greater for patients receiving higher doses of .alpha.-IFN. Patients who received repeated injections at lower doses were able to sustain this stimulation, whereas those who received higher doses were not. Very low doses (0.5 mU/m2) appeared to be maximally efficient. IFN administration to the same group of cancer patients seemed to have similar effects on ADCC against tumor cells. Cells responsive in vitro to .alpha.-IFN (drawn prior to treatment) showed an increase in NK activity similar to that after in vivo administration of .alpha.-IFN, indicating a simple predictor of patients'' responsiveness to IFN treatment in vivo administration of .alpha.-IFN results in a dose-dependent augmentation of NK and ADCC activity in cancer patients.

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