Inhibition of release of interleukin-2 by vincristine and vinblastine

Computational prediction of immune cell cytotoxicity

Immunotoxicity, defined as adverse effects of xenobiotics on the immune system, is gaining increasing attention in the approval process of industrial chemicals and drugs. In-vivo and ex-vivo experiments have been the gold standard in immunotoxicity assessment so far, so the development of in-vitro and in-silico alternatives is an important issue. In this paper we describe a widely applicable, easy-to use computational approach which can serve as an initial immunotoxicity screen of new chemical entities. Molecular fingerprints describing chemical structure were used as parameters in a machine-learning approach based on the Naïve-Bayes learning algorithm. The model was trained using blood-cell growth inhibition data from the NCI database and validated externally with several in-house and literature-derived data sets tested in cytotoxicity assays on different types on immune cells. Both cross-validations and external validations resulted in areas under the receiver operator curves (ROC/AUC) of 75% or higher. The classification of the validation data sets occurred with excellent specificities and fair to excellent selectivities, depending on the data set. This means that the probability of actual immunotoxicity is very high for compounds classified as immunotoxic, while the fraction of false negative predictions might vary. Thus, in a multistep immunotoxicity screening scheme, the classification as immunotoxic can be accepted without additional confirmation, while compounds classified as not immunotoxic will have to be subjected to further investigation.

Effect of anticancer drugs on the release of TGF-beta in vitro

Some conventional and experimental anticancer drugs were tested for their effect on Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta) release from BALB/c splenocytes, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TGF-beta release from Nude mouse splenocytes and BALB/c peritoneal exudate cells stimulated by LPS in vitro. When 5 x 10(6) BALB/c and Nude mouse splenocytes/ml stimulated with 1 microgram/ml Con A, 50ng/ml LPS respectively, and 5 x 10(6)/ml peritoneal exudate cells stimulated with 50ng/ml LPS were incubated with various non-cytotoxic concentrations of the vinca alkaloid Vincristine, there was an inhibition of the release of TGF-beta in culture supernatants of both BALB/c splenocytes and peritoneal exudate cells. But, in Nude mouse Vincristine did not alter the release of TGF-beta. The antitumour antibiotic Bleomycin, the immunoactive peptide FK565 and the immunosuppressive agent Cyclosporin A (CsA) were found to have no effect on the release of TGF-beta from all culture supernatants.

Effect of anticancer drugs on the release of interleukin-6 in vitro

This study investigates the effects of anticancer drugs and immunomodulating agents on the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes in vitro. The addition of non-cytotoxic concentrations of Adriamycin (doxorubicin), vincristine and 4-OOH-cyclophosphamide (the in vitro active analogue of cyclophosphamide) resulted in suppression of IL-6 release. The drugs bleomycin, FK156 [D-lactoyl-L-alanyl-gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)-meso-diaminopimelyl-(L)-g lycine], FK565 [heptanoyl-gamma-D-glutamyl-(L)-meso-diaminopimelyl-(D)-alan ine] and the immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A did not alter the release of IL-6 in the same experimental system.

Effect of anticancer drugs on the release of interleukin-3 in vitro

In this study several anticancer drugs were tested for their effect on the release of interleukin-3 (IL-3) from concanavalin A (Con A) stimulated mouse splenocytes in vitro. When Adriamycin or vincristine were added to the cultures at non-cytotoxic concentrations, the release of IL-3 was inhibited. However, bleomycin, FK156, FK565 and 4-OOH-cyclophosphamide (the in vitro active analogue of the anticancer and immunosuppressive drug cyclophosphamide) did not alter the release of IL-3 under the same conditions. It was confirmed that cyclosporin A inhibited the release of IL-3 in the same experimental system.

Effect of anticancer drugs on the release of tumour necrosis factor in vitro

The anticancer drugs Adriamycin, bleomycin, vincristine, 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, FK156 and FK565 and the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin-A were tested for their effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) release from rat peritoneal exudate cells in vitro. FK565 resulted in a marked enhancement of TNF release when added to cultures at doses of 1 microgram/ml and 10 micrograms/ml. However, FK156, Adriamycin, bleomycin, 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, vincristine and cyclosporin A did not affect the release of TNF under the same conditions. Puromycin inhibited the release of TNF in the same system at non-cytotoxic doses of 1 microgram/ml and 10 micrograms/ml.

Role of vincristine in immunochemotherapy of leukemia in mouse or human models

Synergistic antitumor effects between Vincristine (VCR) and allograft responses have been found in mice bearing allogeneic retrovirus-induced leukemia. In this model VCR depressed weakly allograft reactivity if given before but not after antigen administration. In a parallel human tumor model in vitro using HTLV-1 induced MT-2 leukemia, additive but not synergistic immuno-chemotherapeutic effects were obtained with allogeneic mononuclear cells (MNC) combined with VCR at 0.1 but not at 1 micrograms/ml. In this case natural immunity (NI) rather than antigen-dependent immunity (ADI) was involved in the combined effects of VCR + MNC. In the in vitro model pretreatment of effector cells with 1 or 0.1 micrograms/ml of VCR depressed natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NCMC). However when the drug was added to the effector + target cells during the 4 h cytotoxicity assay, 1 but not 0.1 micrograms/ml of the drug was capable of depressing NCMC function. These results would provide valuable information for developing in vitro immuno-chemotherapy studies in human tumor systems, including those characterized by the presence of tumor-associated oncogenic retroviruses, capable of depressing both NI and ADI functions.

Effect of anticancer drugs on the release of interferon gamma in vitro

Some conventional and experimental anti-cancer drugs were tested for their effect on concanavalin-A-induced interferon gamma release from rat splenocytes in vitro. When 2.5 x 10(6) rat splenocytes/ml, stimulated with 1 microgram/ml concanavalin A, were incubated with various non-cytotoxic doses of the vinca alkaloid vincristine, there was an inhibition of the release of interferon gamma in culture supernatants. The antitumour antibiotics bleomycin and Adriamycin, alkylating agents 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide and mafosfamide, and the immunoactive peptides FK156 and FK565 did not affect the release of interferon gamma under similar conditions. However, cyclosporin A, in similar experiments, markedly inhibited the release of interferon gamma.