title: Interferon-gamma+ and interleukin-2+ T cells in peripheral blood from multiple myeloma patients in relation to disease status and maintenance therapy with interferon-alpha2b (intron A).
abstract: Peripheral blood T cells from 83 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were examined for the production of interferon-gamma (INF-gamma) 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-alpha2b (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 INF gamma+/CD3+, INF gamma+/CD45RO+/CD3+ and IL-2+/CD8+ was higher in patients on INF alpha2b during remission and relapse compared with normal donors (P<0.005). During remission INF gamma+/CD45RO+/CD3+ and IL-2+/CD8+ lymphocytes were higher in patients not on INF alpha2b (P<0.05 and P<0.005, respectively). In relapsed patients INF gamma+/CD3+ and INF gamma+/CD45RO+/CD3+ were increased in patients not taking INF alpha2b (P<0.005). There was no significant difference between the percentages of cytokine-positive lymphocytes in patients taking or not taking INF alpha2b 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 INF alpha2b induces the synthesis of INF gamma 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.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Haematology and Cytogenetics, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Trust, Sutton, Surrey.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Millar
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Millar
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Powles
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Catovsky
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012008:Recurrence; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015850:Interleukin-6; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007371:Interferon-gamma