NATURAL-KILLER-CELL FREQUENCY AND SERUM CYTOKINE LEVELS IN MONOCLONALGAMMOPATHIES - CORRELATION OF BONE-MARROW GRANULAR LYMPHOCYTES TO PROGNOSIS

The percent of granular lymphocytes of total bone marrow lymphocytes w as 12.5% in controls, 15% in myeloma and 27% in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). A good correlation was found betw een the percent of granular lymphocytes in the bone marrow lymphocytes at diagnosis (Y) and the years of survival (X) from the diagnosis of either the IgG- or IgA-type myeloma. The linear regression equation ca lculated for the IgG-type myeloma was Y = 1.6X + 7.42, and for the IgA -type myeloma Y = 4.25X + 4.75. For the purpose of analyzing in detail the granular lymphocyte behavior, two-color analyses of peripheral bl ood mononuclear cells and the serum levels of cytokines were performed . The absolute number of CD3+ cells, CD4+CD45RA+ cells and CD4+CD29+ c ells was lower in the multiple myeloma (MM) cases than that of MGUS or controls (p < 0.01). The CD57+CD16+ natural killer (NK) cells were lo wer in MM cases than in MGUS cases. The serum levels of IL-1, which ma y activate NK cells, were higher in the MGUS cases than in either myel oma cases or controls (p < 0.01). The IL-10 levels, which may inhibit the proliferation of NK cells, were higher in the myeloma cases than i n the MGUS cases (p < 0.05). Detailed understanding of the cytokine ne twork of myeloma patients and their NK cell frequency may be important for the investigation of M proteinemias and for the future strategic planning of biological modulation therapies of myeloma patients.