Effects of combined administration of interleukin-6 and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on recovery from radiation-induced hemopoietic aplasia.

Hemopoietic aplasia is the primary limitation of drug and radiation cancer therapies. We have previously demonstrated that, individually, both interleukin-6 (IL-6) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can accelerate recovery from radiation-induced hemopoietic aplasia. In vitro studies suggest that IL-6 affects cells early in the hemopoietic hierarchy, while G-CSF affects more committed progenitor cells. Because these cytokines may also affect different cell populations in vivo, we hypothesized that the use of these agents in combination may further enhance recovery from hemopoietic aplasia. Female B6D2F1 mice were exposed to a high sublethal 7.75 Gy dose of 60Co radiation. Following irradiation, mice were administered subcutaneous injections of either saline, 500 micrograms/kg of recombinant human IL-6 once daily on days 1-6, 125 micrograms/kg of recombinant human G-CSF once daily on days 1-17, or both cytokines as described. Peripheral white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), and platelet (PLT) counts, as well as femoral and splenic granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cell (GM-CFC) and day-12 spleen colony-forming unit (CFU-S) contents were evaluated on days 7, 10, 14, 17 and 21 postirradiation. IL-6 treatment alone slightly accelerated postirradiation recovery of most hemopoietic parameters, while G-CSF treatment dramatically enhanced recovery of all hemopoietic parameters evaluated. Co-administration of IL-6 and G-CSF further enhanced the hemopoietic recovery. The most notable effects in combination-treated mice were on recoveries of bone marrow and splenic CFU-S, which were significantly enhanced above those in G-CSF-treated irradiated mice as early as day 10 postirradiation. Although by day 14 postirradiation, splenic GM-CFC and CFU-S recoveries in both G-CSF- and combination-treated mice had surpassed unirradiated control values, combination-treated mice exhibited a greater overshoot. These studies demonstrate the ability of IL-6 treatment to enhance G-CSF-mediated acceleration of multilineage recovery following radiation-induced hemopoietic aplasia.