Human anti-lymphoma responses generated in vitro and in vivo following sensitization with allogeneic leukocytes.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a patient with poorly differentiated lymphocyte lymphoma (PDLL), after stimulation for 7 days with X-irradiated allogeneic lymphocytes pooled from three or ten donors (poolx), were cytotoxic for autologous lymphoma cells. Some clones lytic for autologous lymphoma cells, that were derived from this patient's pool-stimulated cells, resembled cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), while other clones resembled natural killer (NK)-like cells in that they also lysed NK-sensitive HLA-negative K562 cells. In a second patient with more advanced PDLL, PDL cultured with T-cell growth factor (which is produced following stimulation with mitogens or alloantigens) lysed autologous lymphoma cells. On the basis of these in vitro findings, we asked whether IV transfusions with X-irradiated allogeneic leukocytes would result in anti-lymphoma responses in vivo. Ten days after transfusions with X-irradiated leukocytes from four unrelated donors, the first patient's two previously palpable nodes were no longer palpable and he remained in complete clinical remission for 6 months. The second patient had a temporary partial remission with dramatic reduction in size of multiple cervical and axillary nodes within 2 weeks after receiving the leukocyte transfusions.