Modification of Luminol-Dependent Chemiluminescence Reactivity of Peripheral Blood Leukocytes from Patients with Lymphoreticular Tumor,Solid Cancer,or Healthy Blood Donors by Interferon-α

The effect of interferon-α (rIFN-α₂) on modulating the luminol-dependent chemiiuminescence (CL) response evoked by Zymosan or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) has been studied in heparinized whole blood as well as isolated peripheral blood leukocytes derived from cancer patients and healthy blood donors. The cancer patients, diagnosed with chronic leukemia or lymphoma or solid cancer, were under rIFN-α₂ therapy. The CL emission to both Zymosan or PMA was enhanced in the whole blood of the patient's group in comparison to whole blood of healthy blood donors. CL reactivity induced in Dextran-sedimented leukocytes derived from neoplasia patients and healthy blood donors did not differ in the two groups. CL reactivity to Zymosan or PMA could be potentiated when whole blood samples or isolated leukocytes of patients or healthy blood donors were incubated in vitro with rIFN-α₂ in the range of 0.001-1000 U/ml prior to addition of CL-stimulating agents. rIFN-α₂ itself without adding further agents did not stimulate CL reactivity. Therefore, enhanced CL reactivity to PMA or Zymosan observed in the whole blood of the patients' population appears to be due to the presence of interferon in serum blood components as a consequence of IFN-infusion rather than to other symptoms or treatments of the neoplastic diseases, since the relative CL enhancement in patients is abrogated when isolated blood leukocytes are used for CL assay.