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Pre-Clinical Studies

Interleukin-7 induced facilitation of immunological reconstitution of sublethally irradiated mice following treatment with alloreactive spleen cells in a murine model of B-cell leukemia/lymphoma (BCL1)

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 40, pages 881–889 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) plays a key role in maturation and function of both T and B cells. We investigate the potential use of recombinant human IL-7 for facilitation of graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effects mediated by T cells following transplantation in a murine model. Administration of IL-7 in vivo to allogeneic-transplanted mice improved disease-free survival: 67% of mice treated with IL-7 remained alive and disease free for more than 60 days, in comparison to 17% of the controls (P<0.05). Similar results were obtained when C57BL/6 spleen cells sensitized against irradiated B-cell leukemia (BCL1) cells in the presence of IL-7 were transplanted to F1 mice, followed by IL-7 treatment in vivo. Of the BALB/c mice that received spleen cells from F1 mice treated with IL-7 following transplantation of C57BL/6 spleen cells sensitized with irradiated BCL1 in the presence of IL-7, only 29% developed leukemia, as compared to 79% in the control group (P<0.05). Mice treated with IL-7 showed increased splenic and thymic cellularity and improved T cell-dependent proliferative responses compared to the controls (P<0.05). IL-7 may provide a novel tool to enhance immune reconstitution following transplantation of mismatched stem cells and for enhancement of GVL effects mediated by alloreactive lymphocytes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Danny Cunniff Leukemia Research Laboratory for its continuous support of our ongoing basic and clinical research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cancer Immunotherapy, Cell Therapy and Transplantation Research Center, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    A Abdul-Hai, L Weiss, M Y Shapira & S Slavin

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Hebrew University—Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel

    A Ben-Yehuda

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Hebrew University—Hadassah School of Medicine, Kaplan School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel

    D Ergas

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  1. A Abdul-Hai
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  5. M Y Shapira
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  6. S Slavin
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Correspondence to S Slavin.

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Abdul-Hai, A., Weiss, L., Ben-Yehuda, A. et al. Interleukin-7 induced facilitation of immunological reconstitution of sublethally irradiated mice following treatment with alloreactive spleen cells in a murine model of B-cell leukemia/lymphoma (BCL1). Bone Marrow Transplant 40, 881–889 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705819

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