title: The potential for monocyte-mediated immunotherapy during infection and malignancy--Part II: in vivo activation by exogenous cytokines and clinical applications.
abstract: The monocyte system exhibits a range of immunological mechanisms that may be harnessed for therapeutic effect against infection and malignancy. The advent of novel therapies aimed at treating infection and malignancy is complemented by a resurgence of clinical interest in immunotherapeutic programmes to treat diseases by modification or direct augmentation of host immunity. Cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IFN-gamma modulate the function of monocytes and have been used to experimentally probe the immunotherapeutic potential of monocytes against micro-organisms and malignancy. However, monocytes rarely act alone but communicate with other leukocytes involved in cell-mediated immunity. In particular monocytes cooperate with the T-helper (Th1 and Th2) sub-populations of peripheral lymphocytes. Moreover, sub-populations of monocytes, as identified by the co-expression of membrane-associated CD14 and CD16, have been shown to exist. At the preclinical level, this provides a unique opportunity to explore the effect of immunotherapeutic strategies on the function of monocyte sub-populations against infectious or malignant challenge and may allow immunotherapeutic strategies to be targeted towards specific monocyte sub-populations. Preclinical and clinical studies in human subjects suggest that GM-CSF and other cytokines such as IFN-gamma are the most promising biological response modifiers for augmenting monocyte-mediated immunity. In this review, the immunotherapeutic potential of the monocyte system will be discussed in the context of combating microbial and malignant disease.
authors.affiliation: Departement of Haematology, St. Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rhoades
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Newland
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kelsey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D007239:Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008262:Macrophage Activation; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual / Q000628:therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor