IL-2 EFFECTS ON ALLOGENEIC AND AUTOLOGOUS TRANSPLANT HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITORS IN LONG-TERM CULTURES

IL-2 therapy may be useful in situations with a low tumour burden, suc h as after autologous transplantation. However, conflicting reports ab out the deleterious effects of this cytokine on haemopoiesis have prec luded its widespread use, To study IL-2 effects on haemopoietic transp lant progenitors we established long-term cultures (Dexter-type) with cells from allogeneic marrow and marrow/peripheral blood cell infusate s of autologous transplants with different concentrations of IL-2 (0-1 000 IU/ml), Percentage of CD56(+) cells was also determined in culture s. IL-2 induced an inhibitory effect on stroma and an increase in the percentage of CD56(+) cells compared with controls, No deleterious eff ect either in the production of BFU-E or CFU-GM weekly or over the who le period of culture was observed, Our results suggest that IL-2 is ab le to induce an increase in CD56(+) cells early after transplantation without a deleterious effect on long-term haemopoiesis.