Restoration of anti-interleukin-1 depressed natural killer activity by human recombinant interferon α or γ, human recombinant interleukin-2 and indomethacin

Abstract The lymphokines interleukin-2 and interferon α or γ are synthesized and secreted by activated mononuclear cells (MC) and play a critical role in the proliferative expansion of T-lymphocyte effector cells during the immune response. The pretreatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with antibody IgG againts human interleukin-1 (IL-1) from normal rabbit serum, inhibited their natural killer (NK) activity againts both myeloid (K562) and lymphoid (MOLT-4) cell lines. Percent specific lysis of tumor cells decreased by increasing the antibody anti-IL-1 dose in an almost linear fashion. When the effector cells were pretreated with human recombinant interleukin-2, human interferon α or γ and indomethacin alone or in combination, the inhibitory effect of antibody against human IL-1 was almost totally reversed.