Cytotoxic activity and phenotypic characteristics of lymphocyte subsets after therapy of cancer patients with interleukin-2.

After a 5-day period of continuous intravenous infusion of recombinant interleukin 2 (rIL-2) in seven patients with malignant melanoma or gastric or pancreatic cancer, different lymphocyte subsets were separated from patients' blood and tested ex vivo for cytotoxic activity against various tumour cell lines. Lytic activity was mediated by CD3+CD56+, CD3-CD56+, CD3-CD2+ and CD8+CD56+ lymphocytes. No cytotoxic activity could be observed within the CD3+CD56-, CD3+CD2+ or CD4+ T cell subsets. To characterize CD56+ cytotoxic cells further, the expression of other antigens on this population was analysed before and after IL-2 therapy. CD3, CD4, CD16 and CD57 antigens were weakly expressed, and the IL-2 receptor (CD25) was not detectable on these cells either before and after treatment with IL-2. In contrast, increased expression of CD2. CD8 and HLA-DR antigens occurred following therapy. The divergence of CD3 and CD8 antigen expression after IL-2 therapy was caused by an increase in CD3-CD8+ cells, detectable as a low-density CD8+ subset. This study shows that cytotoxic activity of in vivo IL-2-activated killer cells is predominantly, but not exclusively, mediated by CD3-CD56+ lymphocytes, partially coexpressing the CD8 antigen and lacking the expression of CD16 antigens.