Interleukin-7 and interleukin-12 have different effects in rescue of depressed cellular immunity: Comparison of malignant and tuberculous pleural effusions

The present study attempts to determine the role of interleukin-7 (IL-7) an d IL-12 in recovering the functions of the lymphocytes of malignant effusio n, in terms of cytokine production, proliferation, and cytolytic activity, compared with lymphocytes from tuberculous pleural effusion. Effusion-assoc iated lymphocytes (EAL) were isolated from tuberculous (tEAL) and malignant (mEAL) pleural effusions. The EAL proliferate response was measured after 3 days in culture. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production and cytotoxicity against K-562 cells or autologous tumor cells were assessed after 6 days i n culture. It was found that the mEAL had depressed proliferation, IFN-gamm a production, and cytolytic activity, as compared with tEAL. Stimulation wi th IL-12 plus IL-2, but not with IL-7 plus IL-2, fully restored the IFN-gam ma production of mEAL to that of tEAL levels. In contrast, the proliferate response of mEAL was enhanced significantly more with IL-7 plus IL-2 than w ith IL-12 plus IL-2. Both the IL-7 plus IL-2 and IL-12 plus IL-2 stimulatio n of mEAL showed a significant increase in cytolytic activity against autol ogous tumor cells, although the cytolytic activity against K-562 cells did not increase. These results suggest that tEAL had a higher cellular activit y than mEAL. This depressed cellular function of mEAL could be reversed wit h cytokines. However, different cytokines had different effects on mEAL; fo r example, IL-7 had a better effect in the stimulation of lymphocyte prolif eration compared with IL-12, which had a better effect in driving the lymph ocytes to the T helper 1 (TH1) pathway and a higher IFN-gamma production. B oth IL-7 and IL-12, in the presence of IL-2, can restore the immunosuppress ed cytolytic activity of the lymphocytes of malignant pleural effusion agai nst autologous tumor.