Enhancement of interleukin-2 immunotherapy with L-arginine

Nutrient substrates have been shown to enhance cell-mediated immunity, but their role as adjuvants to immunotherapy has not been previously determined. This study evaluated L-arginine as an essential substrate for optimal generation of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. This experiment also assessed supplemental dietary L-arginine as a means to potentiate the host antitumor response to interleukin-2 (IL-2) in a murine neuroblastoma (NRB) model. A/J mice received 1% arginine or isonitrogenous 1.7% glycine in addition to a regular diet 14 days before subcutaneous inoculation with C1300 NRB cells. Twenty-four hours later, animals received low (1 x 10(6) U/kg three times a day) or high (3 x 10(6) U/kg three times a day) doses of IL-2 or saline intraperitoneally for 4 days. On days 4 and 10 post-C1300 NRB inoculation, mice were killed for assessment of natural killer cell and tumor specific cytotoxicity. Remaining animals were followed for tumor incidence, tumor growth, and duration of host survival. Interleukin-2 therapy in mice receiving dietary arginine compared with those receiving glycine resulted in significantly augmented natural killer cell cytotoxicity (day 4) and generation of specific tumoricidal mechanisms (day 10). The addition of dietary arginine to low-dose IL-2 therapy significantly diminished C1300 NRB engraftment (p less than 0.05) and growth (p less than 0.001) and prolonged the duration of host survival (p less than 0.05) compared with the glycine treatment group. In vitro studies demonstrated that L-arginine is an essential substrate for optimal generation of LAK cells. Thus, supplemental dietary L-arginine enhances lymphocyte cytotoxic mechanisms and potentiates IL-2 immunotherapy.