Abstract
The cytotoxic effects of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and regional lymph node mononuclear cells (RLNMC) in 31 primary lung cancer patients were studied following administration of OK-432 and/or recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2).
When PBMC or RLNMC were cultured with OK-432 or rIL-2, the cytotoxic activity of the induced cells increased, but the cytotoxic activity of the cells after simultaneous stimulation of both OK-432 and rIL-2 was lower than that with rIL-2 only.
When mononuclear cells (MNC) were pretreated with indomethacin before the addition of both OK-432 and rIL-2 together, the cytotoxic activity of the induced cells increased compared to cells that did not receive indomethacin pretreatment. This means that MNC cultured with OK-432 and rIL-2 together produce prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which suppresses the effects of rIL-2 on MNC.
In contrast, when PBMC were first cultured with rIL-2 and then with OK-432, or when RLNMC were first cultured with OK-432 and then with rIL-2, the cytotoxic activity of these cells was equal or greater in comparison with cells cultured with rIL-2 only.
These results suggest that a certain combination of OK-432 with rIL-2 might be an effective method for generation of killer cells for clinical use.
