A phase I/II clinical trial of autologous cytokine-induced killer cells as adjuvant immunotherapy for acute and chronic myeloid leukemia in clinical remission.

Background Aims: Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have shown remarkable cytotoxicity against various tumors in vitro and in animal studies. We report on the clinical outcome of autologous CIK cells for patients with acute (AML) and chronic (CML) myeloid leukemia in remission.

Methods: Eleven of the 13 recruited AML patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplant (autoPBSCT) were given autologous CIK cell infusion upon engraftment post-transplant and followed-up for disease relapse.

Clinical scale expansion of cytokine-induced killer cells is feasible from healthy donors and patients with acute and chronic myeloid leukemia at various stages of therapy.

Objective: In our clinical studies involving cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells for patients with hematological malignancies, starting cells came from a heterogeneous group of patients and donors. Here we study the feasibility of expansion and analyzed the characteristics of the end product from starting cells derived from different sources and at different disease states.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-five clinical scale cultures were grown from 28 patients and 20 donors in Good Manufacturing Practices facilities under CIK condition.

Interleukin-15 supports generation of highly potent clinical-grade natural killer cells in long-term cultures for targeting hematological malignancies.

Objective: Interleukin (IL)-15 is a promising novel cytokine for natural killer (NK) cell activation and survival. We studied the effects of IL-15 compared to IL-2 on NK cells in long-term cultures for clinical translation.

Materials And Methods: CD56(+)CD3(-) NK cells were expanded with IL-2 or IL-15 for 2 to 4 weeks within lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell cultures (LAK-NK) in serum-enriched AIM V or CellGro Stem Cell Growth Medium (SCGM).

KHYG-1 and NK-92 represent different subtypes of LFA-1-mediated NK cell adhesiveness.

Novel cancer cellular therapy approaches involving long-term ex vivo IL-2 stimulated highly cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells are emerging. However, adhesion properties of such NK cells are not very well understood. Herein, we describe the novel observation of permanently activated alphaLbeta2 integrin leukocyte function-associated antigen (LFA)-1 adhesion receptor in long-term IL-2 activated NK cells and the permanent NK cell lines KHYG-1 and NK-92.