Human interleukin-2 activated cytotoxic cells kill autologous glioma cells in vitro.

We have cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from glioblastoma patients in recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) containing medium for a period of 5 days. The cytotoxicity of these cells was tested on 51Cr-labelled autologous dissociated glioblastoma cells which had not been cultured. Significant cytotoxicity against glioma cells was observed in seven out of nine cases. IL-2 activated PBL from normal donors were equally cytotoxic against these glioma cells. Autologous lymphocytes activated by phytohaemagglutinin were also lysed in most cases, and the erythroleukemia cell line K562 was highly susceptible to the cytotoxic capability of the IL-2 activated PBL. In cold target inhibition experiments, K562 inhibited the cytotoxicity against both autologous and allogenic glioma cells, and glioma cells inhibited the cytotoxicity against K562. Following immunomagnetic separation, the IL-2 activated cells demonstrated cytotoxicity against glioma cells, K562 cells, and PHA blasts in both the CD8+ and the CD8- subsets.