title: Interferons and the colony-stimulating factors IL-3 and GM-CSF enhance the IFN-alpha response in human blood leucocytes induced by herpes simplex virus.
abstract: Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were stimulated to produce interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) by glutaraldehyde-fixed Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV)-infected WISH amnion cells in vitro. Different cytokines were included during the stimulation and tested for their ability to enhance the IFN-alpha response which occurs in the natural IFN-alpha producing (NIP) leucocytes. The total production of IFN-alpha and the numbers of IFN-alpha producing cells (IPCs) were increased by interleukin-3 (IL-3) or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Their most marked effect was to reduce the time required for induction of the IPC by the HSV-infected cells, thereby causing both an earlier peak of IPC numbers and secretion of IFN-alpha. Addition of IFN-alpha 2b did not alter the kinetics of the IFN-alpha response in the same way as the two CSFs, but instead generally increased the IPC numbers and the production of IFN-alpha. The IL-3 and GM-CSF, especially in combination with IFN-alpha, had the most pronounced enhancing effects on IPC numbers when PBMC were induced at low cell concentrations. The cytokines IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) had no detectable effects on the IFN-alpha response. The results suggest that cytokines such as the CSFs and IFNs may be involved in the regulation of NIP cell functions.
authors.affiliation: Interferon Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cederblad
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Alm
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007372:Interferons / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D007377:Interleukin-3; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D007372:Interferons