In vitro and in vivo biologic effects of Interleukin-3 (IL-3) in follicular Low-Grade lymphoma

Abstract

Interleukin-3 (IL-3) is a pleiotropic cytokine which has stimulatory effects on a broad range of hematopoietic progenitor cells. These effects have led to the use of IL-3 in clinical trials for the treatment of aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome as well as to stimulate bone marrow recovery in patients who have received high-dose therapy and bone marrow/stem cell transplantation. However, because one study suggested that IL-3 may also stimulate the growth of follicular small cleaved cell lymphoma (FSCCL) cells in vitro, it was concerning that the use of IL-3 after bone marrow transplantation in patients with FSCCL may stimulate the growth of undetectable minimal residual tumor cells resulting in early relapsed disease. In contrast to these observations, our own in vitro studies demonstrated that 1L-3 inhibited FSCCL cells in short-term culture in a dose-dependent manner. Subsequently, we conducted a phase II clinical trial using single agent IL-3 for the treatment of patients with follicular low grade lymphoma. Our clinical data did not support the hypothesis that IL-3 is a growth stimulator of FSCCL.

Key Words:

• Biologic effects
• interleukin-3
• follicular low grade lymphoma