Generation and Characterization of Lymphokine-activated Killer Cells from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Patients

Lymphokine-activated killer cells generated from peripheral blood of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients showed comparable levels of cytotoxicity. The patients with advanced disseminated disease displayed better augmentation with recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) than the patients with localized disease. Thus, the defective cytotoxic potential of patients could be corrected in a culture of effector cells with IL-2. The indigenous ability to produce IL-2 in response to activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with phytohemagglutin showed slight depression and a positive correlation with the stage of the disease. Phenotypic analysis revealed a heterogenous population of cells involved in cytotoxic activity. Thus, IL-2 merits further evaluation in malignant lymphomas, particularly in relation to other variable therapies in conjunction with chemotherapy.