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Interferon‐γ + and interleukin‐2 + T cells in peripheral blood from multiple myeloma patients in relation to disease status and maintenance therapy with interferon‐α2b (intron A)
Author(s) -
Millar Barbara C.,
Millar J. L.,
Powles R. L.,
Catovsky D.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2141.1997.1782995.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cd8 , melphalan , cytokine , gastroenterology , multiple myeloma , maintenance therapy , cd3 , bone marrow , interleukin 2 , interferon alfa , interferon , immunology , alpha interferon , chemotherapy , immune system
Peripheral blood T cells from 83 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were examined for the production of interferon‐γ (INFγ) and interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) using three‐colour flow cytometry. Comparisons were made between the percentage of cytokine‐positive lymphocytes in normal donors and in patients during remission or relapse. Patients were divided into those who were on maintenance therapy with interferon‐α2b (intron A) and those who had no further treatment after high‐dose melphalan (HDM) with or without autologous bone marrow (ABMR) or peripheral blood stem cell rescue (PBSCR). The percentage of INFγ + /CD3 + , INFγ + /CD45R0 + /CD3 + and IL‐2 + /CD8 + was higher in patients on INFα2b during remission and relapse compared with normal donors ( P < 0.005). During remission INFγ + /CD45R0 + /CD3 + and IL‐2 + /CD8 + lymphocytes were higher in patients not on INFα2b ( P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively). In relapsed patients INFγ + /CD3 + and INFγ + /CD45R0 + /CD3 + were increased in patients not taking INFα2b ( P < 0.005). There was no significant difference between the percentages of cytokine‐positive lymphocytes in patients taking or not taking INFα2b either during remission or relapse. Plasma IL‐6 levels were similar in both groups of patients during remission. The data suggest that if maintenance therapy with INFα2b induces the synthesis of INFγ and IL‐2 in vivo , the magnitude of the effect is small and may be unimportant in providing an anti‐tumour effect in the majority of patients.