Abstract
We have completed the evaluation of the immune response as a function of interferon-α2 in vitro and in Phase I study. in vitro natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with cancer was, as compared in the mean value, almost equal to that of PBL from healthy donors, however enhancement of NK activity by IFN-α2 in patient with cancer was less than that in healthy donors.
In phase I study immunological effects of IFN-α2 had a complex response: although PBL response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was suppressed in all of the cases, both NK and K cell activities were enhanced in some cases and also suppressed in some others.
Sera from patients to whom IFN-α2 was given in general enhanced NK activity of PBL from healthy donors, but markidly suppressed healthy donors' PBL response to PHA, however IFN-α2 concentration of serum was not co-related with either the degree of enhancement of NK activity or that of suppression of healthy donors' PBL response to PHA.
These results suggest that in vivo some immunological suppressive factors may be induced by dose of IFN-α2 and it may be important to give an appropriate dosage of IFN-α2 not inducing an immunological suppressive factors.