Stimulation of natural killer cytotoxicity by long-term treatment with double-stranded polynucleotides without induction of hyporesponsiveness.

Treatment of Wistar/AG rats with a single i.p. injection of 1 mg/kg of synthetic double-stranded polynucleotides, either polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid (rAn.rUn), or a mismatched analogue of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (rIn.r(C12U)n), enhanced the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells among peripheral blood leukocytes and lung intracapillary leukocytes (LICL). The enhancement reached a peak 24 h after treatment and returned to control values after 4 days. In rats given repeated injections of double-stranded polynucleotides (2 per week), the NK cytotoxicity expressed by LICL reached more than ten times (in lytic units) the control levels between day 8, after 3 injections, and day 360, after 100 injections. No hyporesponsiveness was observed. Moreover, NK activity was frequently and significantly higher in rats given multiple injections than in those given a single injection. In rats with experimentally induced P77 lung fibrohistiocytoma colonies, repeated injections of rIn.r(C12U)n stimulated NK activity and reduced the number of metastatic nodules from 172 to 19. The same significant reduction (from 172 to 27) was also observed in animals given repeated injections of rAn.rUn. However, with two models of spontaneous metastases, significant reduction in lung metastases (M37 bronchioloalveolar carcinoma) or lack of effect (S4T19 rhabdomyosarcoma) were observed.