Infusions of interleukin-1α after autologous transplantation for Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma induce effector cells with antilymphoma cytolytic activity

We evaluated the cytolytic function, phenotypic characteristics, and cytokine levels of 22 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 7 with Hodgkin's disease receiving interleukin-la (IL-1α) following autologous bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. IL-1α was given i.v. over 6 hr, between day 0 and day +13 posttransplant. On day +14, cells from patients receiving high-dose IL-1α (3.0 μg/m²/day) had significantly enhanced killing of natural killer (NK)-sensitive and -resistant lymphoma targets compared to those treated with low-dose IL-1α (0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 μg/m²/day). The differences in cytolytic function between the two groups persisted but were not as striking on day +28. Patients receiving higher-dose IL-1α had a significantly increased proportion of CD3⁺ T cells on days +14 and +28, while the proportion of CD16⁺ and CD56⁺ NK cells was decreased compared to those of patients treated with the lower dose. There were no detectable levels of IL-2, interferon-γ, or tumor necrosis factor-α in the plasma of patients receiving IL-1α posttransplant. However, higher-dose IL-1α therapy was associated with significant increases in serum IL-6 levels in comparison to those in patients receiving low-dose IL-1α. IL-1α may increase cytolytic function post-bone marrow transplantation; it remains to be determined, however, whether this would have an impact on decreasing relapse rates of patients undergoing transplantation for lymphoma.