In vivo effects of cytokines on development of natural killer cells and antitumor activity in lethally irradiated bone marrow transplanted recipients.

We have evaluated the effects of combinations of various cytokines on the reconstitution of natural killer (NK) cell activity and resistance to metastases from B16 melanoma, in lethally irradiated mice transplanted with syngeneic bone marrow. Treatment with some combinations of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and other cytokines (IL-2 + IL-1 + TNF alpha or IL-2 + IL-1 + LT) induced appreciably greater and more rapid augmentation of NK cell regeneration than IL-2 alone, as measured in vitro in the 4-h 51Cr release assay against YAC-1 or in vivo in an assay of lung clearance of 125IUdR-labeled tumor cells. The same treatments also induced significant augmentation of in vivo resistance against pulmonary metastases in C57BL/6 mice injected with B16 melanoma cells. These data indicate that stimulation of NK activity in tumor-bearing bone marrow transplanted recipients may be of value in the control of metastatic disease.