Susceptibility of human leukaemias to cell-mediated cytotoxicity by interferon-treated allogeneic lymphocytes

Summary Twenty-two human leukaemias, comprising acute phase leucocytes from 13 acute myeloid and nine lymphoid leukaemias, were tested for susceptibility to spontaneous cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) by untreated lymphocytes and lymphocytes treated for 18 h with 250 IU lymphoblastoid (Namalva) interferon (IFN-). IFN-amplified killing (IAK) by lymphocytes from 24 normal lymphocyte donors was checked on the K562 erythroleukaemia cell line, for comparison with IAK on fresh leukaemias. Nine leukaemias were tested with lymphocytes from three donors, nine with lymphocytes from six donors, three with lymphocytes from nine donors, and one with lymphocytes from 11 donors. Some degree of susceptibility to IAK was found in five acute myeloid and five lymphoid leukaemias, which was markedly dependent upon the source of the effector lymphocytes and did not correlate with the degree of IAK on K562. The 12 other leukaemias were virtually resistant to IAK. The results emphasize the variability in the capacity of IFN-treated lymphocytes to lyse leukaemias that have not been adapted to tissue culture. The basis of effector recognition of cell line and fresh tumour targets is discussed.