Interleukin 1 Mediated in Vitro Antitumor Activities

In vitro studies suggest that Interleukin 1 (IL1) may exert antitumor effects by inducing the production of lymphokines such as IL2 and immune interferon (IFNγ) with documented antitumor activities. IL1 may synergistically increase the immunoenhancing effects of IL2 and IFNγ on cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), on large granular lymphocytes (LGL) with natural killer (NK) activity and on monocytes. In addition, IL1 by itself promotes NK activity of human LGL and the tumoricidal activities of human monocytes. Finally, IL1 has limited direct cytostatic and cytocidal effects on some tumor cell lines.