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Lymphokine-activated killer cells selectively kill tumor cells in bone marrow without compromising bone marrow stem
M R van den Brink1, P J Voogt, W A Marijt
1Department of Immunohematology, University Medical Center of Leiden, The Netherlands.
Blood
|July 1, 1989
Summary
Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells selectively kill cancer cells while sparing normal bone marrow progenitor cells. This suggests LAK cell therapy may be safe for bone marrow transplantation and cancer treatment.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Hematology
Background:
- Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells demonstrate selective tumor cell cytotoxicity.
- Contradictory findings exist regarding LAK cell toxicity towards hematopoietic progenitor cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate LAK cell effects on normal bone marrow progenitor cells.
- To assess LAK cell-mediated elimination of neoplastic hematopoietic cells in vitro.
Main Methods:
- In vitro study of LAK cell cytolytic activity and growth inhibition.
- Clonogenic assays for various hematopoietic progenitor cells (CFU-GM, CFU-E, BFU-E, CFU-GEMM).
- Co-culture experiments with LAK cells and tumor cell lines (K562, HL60) or acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) cells.
Main Results:
- LAK cells exhibited minimal cytolytic activity against normal bone marrow cells.
- Normal bone marrow cells did not impede LAK cell killing of K562, HL60, or AML cells.
- LAK cells significantly inhibited growth of K562 and HL60 cell lines (>90%).
- No significant inhibitory effect of LAK cells on hematopoietic progenitor growth was observed.
Conclusions:
- LAK cells demonstrate low toxicity to normal bone marrow progenitor cells in vitro.
- LAK cell anti-tumor activity is not compromised by the presence of normal bone marrow cells.
- The selective action of LAK cells suggests potential therapeutic applications in autologous bone marrow transplantation and adjuvant cancer therapy.