Synergism of recombinant human interferon gamma with liposome-encapsulated muramyl tripeptide in activation of the tumoricidal properties of human monocytes

Freshly isolated human peripheral blood monocytes from healthy volunteers are not cytotoxic to allogeneic A375 melanoma cells, but they were rendered tumoricidal by incubation in vitro with either liposomes containing 5 micrograms/mumol phospholipid of muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine (liposome-MTP-PE; optimal dose, 500 nmol/ml) or recombinant human interferon gamma (rIFN-gamma; optimal dose, 100 U/ml). A combination of sub-threshold concentrations of liposome-MTP-PE (50 nmol/ml) and rIFN-gamma (1 or 10 U/ml) also induced significant tumor-cell killing, indicating that the effects of rIFN-gamma and liposome-MTP-PE in monocyte activation are synergistic. In contrast to rIFN-gamma, recombinant IFN-alpha and IFN-beta had additive effects with liposome-MTP-PE in human monocyte activation. Since recombinant human IFN-gamma has a synergistic effect with liposome-MTP-PE in monocyte activation, unlike IFN-alpha or IFN-beta, and liposome-MTP-PE as well as rIFN-gamma is available at standardized concentrations, this combination could be of clinical value in the treatment of disseminated malignant disease.     

Suppression by interleukin 4 of activation of human blood monocytes to the tumoricidal state

The effect of interleukin 4 (IL-4) on expression of antitumor activity of blood monocytes purified by counter-flow centrifugal elutriation from healthy donors was examined. The blood monocytes were incubated for 24 h in medium with lipopolysaccharide, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) or desmethyl muramyl dipeptide (norMDP) or with IFN-gamma and norMDP in the presence of IL-4, and then their tumoricidal activity was assayed by measuring 125IUdR release from human melanoma (A375) cells. Irrespective of activation stimulus, addition of IL-4 to cultures of monocytes and activators resulted in dose-dependent suppression of the tumoricidal activity of monocytes against parent A375 melanoma cells and the variant cells, A375-R resistant to IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha. IL-4 suppressed the early induction phase of monocyte activation. Rabbit anti-IL-4 antisera completely blocked the IL-4-mediated suppression of monocyte activation to the tumoricidal state. These findings suggest that IL-4 is important in vivo in down-regulation of anti-tumor expression of monocytes.     

Induction of tumoricidal properties in human monocytes by synergism between interferon-gamma and liposome-entrapped muramyl tripeptide

Human blood monocytes from healthy volunteers, separated by centrifugal elutriation, were not cytotoxic to allogeneic A 375 melanoma cells. The monocytes were rendered tumoricidal by incubation for 24 h with natural interferon-alpha and beta or recombinant interferon-alpha A and alpha A/D (more than 100 U/ml) or with interferon-gamma (more than 1 U/ml). Liposome-MTP-PE at concentrations of more than 50 nmol/ml also induced tumoricidal activity of monocytes. When a combination of subthreshold concentrations of these IFNs and liposome-MTP-PE were added to monocyte cultures, IFN-alpha and beta acted additively in monocyte activation, while IFN-gamma acted synergistically. The synergism for monocyte activation required that monocytes be incubated first with IFN-gamma and then with liposome-MTP-PE. These findings suggest that the synergistic effect of IFN-gamma and liposome-MTP-PE can decrease the necessary clinical doses of these agents for malignant diseases, and may have therapeutic availability in the treatment of metastatic cancer in humans.     

Production of interleukin 1 by activated blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages from melanoma patients

The production of Interleukin 1 (Il1) by circulating blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages was studied in melanoma patients. There were 144 patients in the monocytes study and 5 patients in the alveolar macrophages study. The Il1 activity was tested by a bioassay and reported in units based on the integration of the area under the curve. This was shown to be preferable to the standard method, i.e. probit analysis. Results showed that there was no depression of Il1 activity in melanoma patients as compared to control (98 + 32 units, versus 100 units). There was no difference when the values were compared according to sex, age and stage of the disease. However, a significant difference was found between phototype I and phototype IV. Alveolar macrophages, in all experiments (n = 5), had a significantly lower Il1 activity than the autologous monocytes. It is concluded that we can question the relevance of Il1 production by peripheral blood monocytes to the state of the immunity of melanoma patients.     

Kinetics and function of tumor cytotoxic factor(s) produced by human blood monocytes activated to the tumoricidal state

Human monocytes obtained from healthy volunteers and isolated by centrifugal elutriation were not cytotoxic to allogeneic tumorigenic cells. These freshly isolated monocytes were rendered tumoricidal following interaction in vitro for 24 hours with greater than 0.01 micrograms lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/ml or over 1 microgram nor-muramyl dipeptide/ml. Monocytes activated by this procedure produced a soluble factor that lysed tumor cells. Full expression of tumor cell lysis required a minimum of 18 hours' exposure of tumor cells to the factor. The degree of tumor cytotoxic factor (TCF) production was closely related to the intensity of monocyte activation to become tumoricidal. Significant production of TCF by monocytes was detected in the supernatants after treatment for 3 hours with LPS. TCF was also released by activated monocytes when cocultivated with tumorigenic cells. Similarly, the level of TCF production correlated with the monocyte density. TCF destroyed human allogeneic tumor cell lines (melanoma, glioblastoma, colon carcinoma, prostatic carcinoma, and breast carcinoma), but it did not affect nontumorigenic cell lines (lung and skin fibroblasts). TCF activity was not blocked by superoxide dismutase, catalase, or protease inhibitors; it was destroyed by being heated at 100 degrees C for 2 minutes. The ability of activated monocytes to release TCF could enhance host defense against cancer.     

Membrane-associated interleukin 1 alpha as a mediator of tumor cell killing by human blood monocytes fixed with paraformaldehyde

Human blood monocytes isolated by centrifugal elutriation from healthy donors were tested for ability to produce membrane-associated antitumor monokine(s) in response to activation stimuli such as various types of interferon (IFN) and/or synthetic desmethyl muramyl dipeptide (norMDP). IFNs (alpha, beta, and gamma) and norMDP rendered blood monocytes cytotoxic to allogeneic A375 melanoma cells, as assayed by measuring release of [125I]iododeoxyuridine in 72 h. When monocytes were treated with any type of IFN for 16 h, and then fixed with paraformaldehyde, they did not show cytotoxicity to A375 cells, but when they were fixed after treatment with norMDP or lipopolysaccharide they showed significant cytotoxicity to A375 melanoma cells. This membrane-associated antitumor monokine induced by the synergistic actions of suboptimal concentrations of IFN-gamma and norMDP, was cytotoxic to HT-29 colon cancer cells as well as A375 melanoma cells, but not to actinomycin D-treated L-929 cells. The fixed monocyte-mediated cytotoxicity against A375 melanoma cells was completely inhibited by a specific anti-interleukin 1 alpha antiserum, but not by a specific anti-interleukin 1 beta antiserum or monoclonal anti-TNF antibody. These results suggest that membrane-associated interleukin 1 alpha is involved through cell-to-cell contact in the host defense mechanism against cancer.     

A role for the interleukin 1 receptor in the synergistic antitumor effects of human interleukin 1 alpha and etoposide against human melanoma cells.

To investigate the possibility that anticancer drugs combined with cytokines may show increased activity, human tumor cells were treated with combinations of human recombinant interleukin 1 alpha (rIL-1 alpha) and etoposide (VP-16). The cytotoxicity of these combinations was evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay using rIL-1 alpha-sensitive A375-C6 melanoma cells and A375-C5 cells, a clonal variant line that is resistant to IL-1 alpha. Data were analyzed for synergism by the median effect principle of T-C. Chou and P. Talalay (J. Biol. Chem., 252: 6438-6442, 1977). At a dose ratio of VP-16 to rIL-1 alpha of 12 nM:1 unit/ml in either simultaneous or sequential exposure (VP-16 first), the calculated combination index values indicated synergistic cytotoxicity toward both A375-C6 cells and A375-C5 cells. IL-1 alpha treatment 24 h prior to VP-16 exposure had no advantage over simultaneous treatment. Surface IL-1 alpha receptors on both A375-C6 and A375-C5 cells were measured using 125I-radiolabeled rIL-1 alpha binding; A375-C6 cells had 701 +/- 128 (SD) receptor molecules/cell and A375-C5 cells only had 58 +/- 33 receptor molecules/cell. The dissociation constants for IL-1 alpha were similar in both cell types (19 +/- 6 pM for A375-C6 and 17 +/- 2 pM for A375-C5). The specific binding of rIL-1 alpha to the surface IL-1 alpha receptors of both sensitive and resistant cells was significantly increased in a dose-dependent fashion by the prior treatment with VP-16 (1.75-fold on A375-C6 cells and 3.5-fold on A375-C5 cells). VP-16 also enhanced the internalization of receptor-bound rIL-1 alpha, suggesting that a possible mechanism of the synergistic cytotoxicity of rIL-1 alpha and VP-16 might be related to the modulation of rIL-1 alpha receptors by VP-16, resulting in increased internalization of rIL-1 alpha.     

In vitro activation of rat liver macrophages to tumoricidal activity by free or liposome-encapsulated muramyl dipeptide

We investigated the in vitro activation of rat liver macrophages to a tumoricidal state with free and liposome-encapsulated immunomodulators. The cytolytic activity of liver macrophages was determined by a radioactivity release assay using murine B16 melanoma cells, labeled with [methyl-3H]thymidine. Exposure of the liver macrophages to concentrations of 50 micrograms of free, nonencapsulated, muramyl dipeptide (MDP) per ml resulted in maximal levels of tumor cell lysis of approximately 20%. Encapsulation of the MDP within liposomes (multilamellar vesicles, 0.3 to 0.5 micron in diameter, consisting of egg phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and dicetylphosphate, 4:5:1) not only caused a 500-fold reduction in the amount of MDP required to obtain the same levels of cytolysis but also increased the maximally obtainable level of cytolysis more than 2-fold. A synergistic effect of lipopolysaccharide and free or encapsulated MDP on cytolytic activity was observed when the macrophages were exposed to a combination of the two agents simultaneously. Besides causing tumor cell lysis, activated macrophages were also able to suppress tumor cell proliferation by 80 to 90% as determined by a [methyl-3H]thymidine incorporation assay. With a fixed amount of MDP, encapsulated in different amounts of liposomal lipid, the extent of macrophage activation was found to increase with a larger amount of encapsulating lipid. This increase in macrophage activation may be the result of a sustained intracellular release of encapsulated MDP from the liposomes. Liposome structure and composition will thus be important parameters in the in vivo application of liposomes as carriers of immunoactive substances.     

Constitutive production of interleukin 1 by human monocytic leukemia cell line JOSK-I and the production mechanism

JOSK-I is a newly established human monocytic leukemia cell line derived from the peripheral blood of a patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia. The cells possess immature monocytic features, both cytochemical and immunochemical. It was found that a high level of interleukin 1 (IL-1) was produced by JOSK-I cells without any stimulation. The IL-1 production by JOSK-I cells has the following characteristics: constitutive; cell concentration dependent; and minimal at the logarithmic growth phase and maximal at the saturation density of cell growth. This constitutive production of IL-1 was little affected by the addition of polymyxin B. Partial purification of JOSK-I-derived IL-1 was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography on HPHT hydroxylapatite and TSK gel G3000 SW columns. The activity was found in the molecular weight range of 14,000 to 30,000 and over 70,000. In chromatofocusing, JOSK-1-derived IL-1 exhibited two isoelectric points, pI 6.9 and pI 5.9. Nearly 90% of the activity was immunoprecipitated with rabbit anti-human IL-1 antibody. These characteristics are consistent with those of human monocyte-derived IL-1. This cell line might be an ideal source of native IL-1 for investigating the biological and biochemical characteristics of human IL-1 and its clinical application.     

Enhanced production of interleukin 6 in peripheral blood monocytes stimulated with mucins secreted into the bloodstream.

PURPOSE: It has been reported that tumor progression is correlated with the serum level of interleukin 6 (IL-6). The purpose of this study was to investigate by what mechanism, other than production from tumor cell, the serum level of IL-6 is elevated in the tumor-bearing state. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Monocytes from healthy donors were cultured in the presence of sera from colon cancer patients, and the activity to elevate IL-6 production was estimated. This activity of serum was also examined after various biochemical treatments. RESULTS: When monocytes from healthy donors were cultured in the presence of sera from patients with colon cancer, secretion of IL-6 from the cells was markedly elevated. Serum proteins were fractionated on Sepharose 4B and the activity to elevate IL-6 production was found in the excluded fractions. Sialyl Tn antigen was detected in these same fractions. By excluding some mucins from the serum, the inducing activity was reduced to 40% of the original level. Furthermore, we purified mucins from the conditioned medium of colon cancer cells. Production of IL-6 was effectively elevated by a small amount of purified mucins in a dose-dependent manner. When the inducing activity was examined in the presence of binding or competitive inhibitors to the scavenger receptor, the effect was remarkably reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Mucins secreted from colon cancer cells into the bloodstream induce production of IL-6 in peripheral blood monocytes through the scavenger receptor, which may be responsible for the high level of serum IL-6 in colon cancer patients.     

Potentiation of interleukin 1 alpha mediated antitumor effects by ketoconazole

In the present studies, the regulatory role of adrenal hormones on the antitumor activity of recombinant human interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) was investigated. Ketoconazole, a potent but transient inhibitor of adrenal steroid hormone biosynthesis, inhibited IL-1 alpha induced increases in plasma corticosterone. In s.c. RIF-1 tumors (C3H/HeJ mice) ketoconazole potentiated IL-1 alpha induced hemorrhagic necrosis (59Fe labeled RBC uptake) and prolonged intervals of low tumor perfusion (86Rb+ uptake) and attendant depletion of tumor high energy phosphate reserves as determined by in vivo 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In normal muscle and skin the ketoconazole-IL-1 alpha combination had no effect on RBC content and little or no effect on tissue perfusion. Ketoconazole potentiation of IL-1 alpha induced tumor pathophysiologies was accompanied by time and ketoconazole dose dependent potentiation of RIF-1 tumor clonogenic cell killing. Although ketoconazole at 40 mg/kg and IL-1 alpha at 25 micrograms/kg alone each produced approximately 50% clonogenic cell kill, a combined treatment (IL-1 alpha 1 h after ketoconazole) resulted in surviving fractions of approximately 1.5%. In vitro, ketoconazole and IL-1 alpha induced only additive clonogenic cell kill in primary RIF-1 explant cultures. The effect of elevated plasma corticosterone levels, induced by ketamine-acepromazine anesthesia, on IL-1 alpha responsiveness was also studied in the RIF-1 tumor model. In C3H/HeJ mice, anesthesia increased plasma corticosterone levels within 30 min, abrogated the IL-1 alpha effect on tumor perfusion, and prevented depletion of tumor high energy phosphate metabolite reserves. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that IL-1 alpha mediated adrenal hormone responses exert a profound negative feedback on IL-1 alpha antitumor activities. Our data also indicate that adrenal steroid hormone biosynthetic pathways could provide a focus for modulation strategies to increase the efficacy of cytokine based therapeutic interventions.     

Elevated expression of phosphatidylserine in the outer membrane leaflet of human tumor cells and recognition by activated human blood monocytes

We determined whether the presence of phosphatidylserine (PS) in the outer membrane leaflet of human tumor cells correlated with their recognition by activated human monocytes. Three tumorigenic cell lines, A375 melanoma and A431 and Colo-16 carcinomas, and a normal human epidermal keratinocyte line (NHEK) were incubated with monocytes activated to the tumoricidal state by gamma-interferon and lipopolysaccharide. Activated human monocytes bound to and lysed all tumorigenic targets, while the nontumorigenic NHEK were neither bound nor killed. Semiquantitative analysis of PS in the outer leaflet of the cells revealed that the tumorigenic cells expressed 3-7-fold more PS than did the nontumorigenic NHEK. To determine whether enhanced PS expression on the tumor cells was responsible for their recognition by activated monocytes, NHEK were supplemented with exogenously supplied analogues of PS and phosphatidylcholine. PS-labeled NHEK but not phosphatidylcholine-labeled nor control NHEK bound to activated human monocytes. These results suggest a role for PS in monocyte recognition of tumor cells.     

Down-regulation by interleukin 4 of activation of human alveolar macrophages to the tumoricidal state

The effect of recombinant human interleukin 4 (IL-4) on the expression of antitumor activity of human alveolar macrophages (AM) obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage from healthy donors was examined. AM were incubated for 16 h in medium with various macrophage activators [lipopolysaccharide, des-methyl muramyldipeptide, Nocardia rubra cell wall skeleton, and heptanoyl-gamma-D-Glu-(L)-meso-alpha,epsilon-A2pm(L)-D-Al aOH] in the presence or absence of IL-4, and then their tumoricidal activity was assayed by measuring 125I-UdR release from human melanoma (A375) cells. The spontaneous tumoricidal activity of AM was slightly suppressed by IL-4 in 3 of 7 donors. Addition of IL-4 to cultures of AM with the activators resulted in dose-dependent suppression of AM-mediated cytotoxicity against A375 cells. IL-4 also inhibited AM-mediated cytotoxicity against A375-R cells, which are resistant to interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha, HT-29 colon cancer cells, and KB cells. IL-4 inhibited the early induction phase of AM activation. Pretreatment of AM with IL-4 also suppressed their expression of antitumor activity in response to lipopolysaccharide. IL-4 inhibited the production of monokines (IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha) by AM at the protein and mRNA levels. These findings suggest that IL-4 may be important in vivo in the down-regulation of antitumor expression of AM in the lung by inhibiting the production of monokines and other killing mechanisms.     

Human melanoma cells transcribe interleukin 1 genes identical to those of monocytes

Two molecular species of the pleotropic cytokine interleukin 1 (IL-1) are produced as products of two distinct genes transcribed by cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage. We have shown previously that a significant proportion of human melanoma cell lines express IL-1 biological activity, but it has not been demonstrated that this activity is the same as authentic monocyte IL-1 alpha and -beta. Here we report the cloning and sequencing of IL-1 complementary DNAs from a metastatic melanoma cell line and demonstrate that they encode bona fide IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta. In addition, IL-1 complementary DNAs encoding a different amino acid at position 145 were revealed.     

Potentiation of mitomycin C and porfiromycin antitumor activity in solid tumor models by recombinant human interleukin 1 alpha

The time- and dose-dependent effects of recombinant human interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) on the antitumor activity of mitomycin C (MMC) and porfiromycin (PORF) were studied in RIF-1 and Panc02 solid tumor model systems. IL-1 alpha produced dose-dependent sensitization of clonogenic RIF-1 tumor cells to MMC in vivo. IL-1 alpha chemosensitization was highly schedule dependent, and the most efficacious schedules produced dose-modifying factors of 3.6 and 5.1 for MMC and PORF, respectively. More than additive clonogenic cell kill after IL-1 alpha-chemotherapy combinations reflected increased cellular sensitivity to MMC and PORF. The combinations also produced marked decreases in the yield of viable tumor cells, suggesting that the bioreductive drugs may have also potentiated the microvascular injury and ischemia produced by IL-1 alpha. Dexamethasone inhibited and ketoconazole, an inhibitor of corticosterone biosynthesis, enhanced IL-1 alpha-mediated chemosensitization in these models. IL-1 alpha mediated chemosensitization to MMC, and PORF was also demonstrated by tumor growth inhibition in the RIF-1 model and increased survival of mice in the spontaneously metastasizing Panc02 system. Chemosensitization of bone marrow spleen colony-forming units was not seen. IL-1 alpha (1000 units/ml) had no effect on MMC and PORF cytotoxicity in RIF-1 and PORF cell lines in vitro. The results indicate that the tumor-specific IL-1 alpha-induced pathophysiologies can sensitize solid tumors to agents which are preferentially activated, retained, and cytotoxic to cells under hypoxic conditions. Our results suggest that strategies combining bioreductively activated hypoxic cell cytotoxins and biological agents might offer efficacious alternatives or adjuvants to conventional combination approaches.     

Adoptive immunotherapy of experimental ovarian-cancer using activated human monocytes and the human monoclonal-antibody, anti-14c1

We have examined the ability of the ovarian cancer cell-line OWmM1 to grow intraperitoneally in athymic ('nude') mice. The cell-line was tumorigenic and metastatic in a manner that paralleled the human disease; the metastatic nodules implanted onto the peritoneal surface, the diaphragm and the mesentery. The resulting tumour formed a clear ascitic fluid and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Adoptive transfer of activated human monocytes to the peritoneal cavity of tumour-bearing animals showed no increase in survival, while antibody alone produced a modest survival benefit (2-4 days). Administration of the human monoclonal antibody anti-14C1 and monocyte therapy together increased the benefit further and resulted in approximately 30% of the animals surviving until the end of the experiment (100 days).     

Calcium dependency of the production of interleukin 1 and the expression of interleukin 1 receptors of human adult T-cell leukemia cells in vitro

The effect of calcium on the production of interleukin 1 (IL 1) and the expression of IL 1 receptors (R) of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cells was studied in vitro. ATL cells freshly obtained from patients and ATL cell lines produced limited amounts of IL 1 by culturing in a low-calcium concentration of medium (less than 0.01 mM). However, the production of IL 1 was enhanced by the addition of calcium chloride to the medium in a concentration-dependent manner and reached the maximum at the higher calcium concentration (3-4 mM) than at the standard calcium concentration of medium (1.26 mM). The production of IL 1 from ATL cells was further enhanced by calcium ionophore. Furthermore, the expression of IL 1R on ATL cells was augmented in proportion to the extracellular calcium concentration and calcium ionophore. In accordance with the change of the extracellular calcium concentration, the intracellular calcium concentration of ATL cells detected by Fura 2 was changed. However, this calcium dependency was not observed in the human T-cell leukemia virus I-negative acute T-cell leukemia cells. These results suggest that calcium plays a critical role in the regulation of the production of IL 1 and the expression of IL 1R on ATL cells.     

Large-scale production of human tumorcytotoxic macrophages grown from blood monocytes of cancer patients.

For adoptive immunotherapy protocols using cells of the macrophage (M phi) system, well differentiated and functionally competent effector cells are required. In this presentation the generation of a large number of M phi grown in vitro from blood monocytes (mo) is reported. Mononuclear cells (MNC) were collected by cytapheresis and subsequent Ficoll centrifugation. Mean yield was 6.9 x 10(9) MNC (range from 3 x 10(9) to 1.2 x 10(10), n = 18) with a mean mo count of 22 +/- 14%. MNC were cultured at 5 x 10(6)/ml in suspension on hydrophobic Teflon foils with 2% autologous serum for 7 days with recombinant human interferon-gamma (rhIFN-gamma) being present for the last 18 h of culture. Cells were harvested and activated mo-derived M phi separated from lymphocytes by counter-current centrifugal elutriation. On average, 42% of mo cultured could be recovered as M phi, the maximal number of M phi generated being 1.7 x 10(9) with a purity of up to 96%. Mo-derived M phi appeared to be mature by their expression of maturation-associated antigens and proved to be cytotoxic to allogeneic tumor targets in vitro. They secreted large quantities of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) upon stimulation with endotoxin. Using the technology described, this study revealed that large amounts of tumorcytotoxic M phi can be generated from the peripheral blood of cancer patients to be used in adoptive immunotherapy trials.     

Combination effect of recombinant human interleukin 1 alpha with antitumor drugs on syngeneic tumors in mice

To investigate the combination effects of recombinant human interleukin 1 alpha (rHu IL-1 alpha) and antitumor drugs, groups of 7 mice bearing syngeneic tumors (Meth A sarcoma in BALB/c mice and colon 26 adenocarcinoma in BALB/c x DBA/2 F1 mice) were treated i.v. with the antitumor drugs according to the early (once daily on days 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13) and/or late (once daily on days 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19) medication schedules in combination with rHu IL-1 alpha administered i.m. at various timings (1 day before, concurrently with, and 1 day after every drug administration). Inhibition rates of the antitumor drugs (mitomycin C, doxorubicin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil) for both the murine tumors were more or less raised by coadministration of rHu IL-1 alpha irrespective of medication schedules and combination timings. After both early and late treatments with the optimal combinations of rHu IL-1 alpha (0.1-3 micrograms/mouse) and cisplatin (2-4 mg/kg) and by the late treatment with the optimal combinations of rHu IL-1 alpha (0.3-3 micrograms/mouse) and carboplatin (32 mg/kg) or thiotepa (4 mg/kg), many mice were completely cured of colon 26 adenocarcinoma and survived for more than 90 days. Combined use of rHu IL-1 alpha and antitumor drugs seems to be beneficial in antitumor chemotherapy.