title: Interferon-gamma is cytotoxic for normal mouse fibroblasts: enhancement by tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) are cytotoxic for certain tumor cells but have a proliferative effect on normal cells. Here we show that interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) can be cytotoxic for normal cells, in particular mouse embryonic fibroblasts. The cytotoxicity effect is observed with immuno-purified recombinant mouse IFN-gamma (MuIFN-gamma) at concentrations of 1,000 I.U./ml and can be neutralized by anti-MuIFN-gamma monoclonal antibodies. The effect appears 48 h after initial contact with IFN-gamma and is not influenced by infection of the target cells with mengovirus. Although TNF and IL-1 are not toxic for mouse fibroblasts, they can strongly enhance the IFN-gamma-induced cytotoxicity. Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), interferon-beta (IFN-beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) neither are cytotoxic themselves nor have any influence on the IFN-gamma-induced cytotoxicity. The cytotoxicity of IFN-gamma, in contrast to that of TNF is inhibited by actinomycin or cycloheximide. These data suggest that the cytotoxic effect of IFN-gamma requires active cooperation of target cells and that the mechanism of action is different from that of the TNF-induced cytotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dijkmans
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Decock
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heremans
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Damme
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Billiau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000009:adverse effects; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015850:Interleukin-6; D007378:Interleukins / Q000009:adverse effects; D008264:Macrophages; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I; D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D007378:Interleukins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma