title: IFN-alpha promotes the rapid differentiation of monocytes from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia into activated dendritic cells tuned to undergo full maturation after LPS treatment.
abstract: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a malignant myeloproliferative disease arising from the clonal expansion of a stem cell expressing the bcr/abl oncogene. CML patients frequently respond to treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), even though the mechanisms of the response remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the role of IFN-alpha in differentiation and activity of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) from CML patients as well as in modulation of the cell response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Treatment of CML monocytes with IFN-alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) resulted in the rapid generation of activated DCs (CML-IFN-DCs) expressing interleukin-15 (IL-15) and the antiapoptotic bcl-2 gene. These cells were fully competent to induce IFN-gamma production by cocultured autologous T lymphocytes and expansion of CD8(+) T cells. LPS treatment of CML-IFN-DCs, but not of immature DCs generated in the presence of IL-4/GM-CSF, induced the generation of CD8(+) T cells reactive against autologous leukemic CD34(+) cells. Altogether, these results suggest that (1) the generation of highly active monocyte-derived DCs could be important for the induction of an antitumor response in IFN-treated CML patients and (2) IFN-alpha can represent a valuable cytokine for the rapid generation of active monocyte-derived DCs to be utilized for vaccination strategies of CML patients.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Laboratory of Virology, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gabriele
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borghi
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rozera
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sestili
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andreotti
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guarini
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montefusco
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Foà
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belardelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D054357:Chemokine CXCL10; D019743:Chemokines, CXC / Q000235:genetics; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000235:genetics; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D054357:Chemokine CXCL10; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D007370:Interferon Type I; D019409:Interleukin-15; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor