Elevations of cytokines interleukin-1, interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor in the urine of patients after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy.
In an attempt to elucidate further the immunological mechanisms responsible for the effectiveness of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin in the therapy of superficial urothelial bladder cancer, a prospective study was performed in which the urine of patients was examined before and after 6 intravesical instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guerin for the presence of the cytokines interleukin-1, interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Biological assays such as specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used for the analysis of each cytokine. Urinary titers of interleukin-1, interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor increased significantly after bacillus Calmette-Guerin instillation but showed inter-individual differences. The maximum of secretion into the urine was seen between 4 and 8 hours after the instillation, and titers returned to baseline values within 24 hours. The differences in 24-hour secretion between the bacillus Calmette-Guerin-treated (10 patients) and the control (10) groups were significant with respect to all cytokines as tested in both assays each, except for the interleukin-1 biological assay. These results reflect the strong inflammatory response in the bladder wall to bacillus Calmette-Guerin, in which the urinary secretion of the detected cytokines may be associated with the local tumor control.
Department of Urology, Medical University of Lübeck, Federal Republic of Germany.
A
A
Böhle
C
C
Nowc
A J
AJ
Ulmer
J
J
Musehold
J
J
Gerdes
A G
AG
Hofstetter
H D
HD
Flad
D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001685:Biological Factors / Q000652:urine*; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000652:urine; D016207:Cytokines; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000652:urine; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000652:urine; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000652:urine; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000652:urine
D001500:BCG Vaccine; D001685:Biological Factors; D016207:Cytokines; D007375:Interleukin-1; D007376:Interleukin-2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha