In vivo effects of interleukin-6 on thrombopoiesis in healthy and irradiated primates.

We have studied the in vivo effects of recombinant human interleukin-6 (rhIL-6) on hematopoiesis in eight healthy and nine irradiated cynomolgus monkeys. Of the healthy animals, three received rhIL-6 alone (10 micrograms/kg/d, subcutaneously [SC]), one received rhIL-6 in combination with rhIL-3 (10 micrograms/kg/d, SC), one received rhIL-6 in combination with recombinant cynomolgus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rcGM-CSF; 10 micrograms/kg/d, SC), two received rhIL-6 in combination with recombinant human granulocyte-CSF (rhG-CSF; 10 micrograms/kg/d, SC), and one received rhIL-6 in combination with recombinant human leukemia inhibitory factor (rhLIF; 10 micrograms/kg/d, SC). All animals were treated for at least 2 weeks with rhIL-6 or the above mentioned combinations. rhIL-6 alone significantly increased the peripheral blood platelet counts (2- to 3.5-fold). The platelets reached a plateau between days 10 and 15 of treatment. No synergistic effects on platelet numbers were observed when rhIL-6 was combined with rhIL-3, rcGM-CSF, rhG-CSF, or rhLIF. In addition to rhIL-6, only rhLIF increased the platelet numbers when administered alone. To test whether rhIL-6 might also protect the animal from thrombocytopenia or shorten the time of thrombocytopenia after irradiation, we treated nine animals with total body irradiation (3.8 Gy). Six of the animals were additional treated with rhIL-6 (4 with 10 micrograms/kg/d; and 2 with 100 micrograms/kg/d) from day -1 or +1 to day 28 post irradiation. In these animals, rhIL-6 at the same dose effective in healthy animals (10 micrograms/kg/d) was not capable of protecting the animals from platelet nadir. However, when pegylated rhIL-6 was used at a dosage of 100 micrograms/kg/d post irradiation, the mean of the nadirs was 71,000/microL as compared with 39,000/microL in control animals and the time of thrombocytopenia was shorter (3 v 5 days). In all animals (healthy and irradiated), rhIL-6 did not increase the number of bone marrow megakaryocytes but induced a right shift of DNA ploidy in megakaryocytes. These data suggest that IL-6 acts as "thrombopoietin"-like activity, but not as "megakaryocyte-CSF"-like activity.