Enhanced suppression of human myeloid leukemic cell lines by combinations of IL-6, LIF, GM-CSF and G-CSF.

The interactions of purified recombinant human leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), and granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) on the clonogenicity of HL60 cells and U937 cells were studied in vitro. IL-6 alone strongly suppressed colony formation by U937 cells with induction of differentiation and loss of clonogenicity. GM-CSF interacted synergistically with IL-6 to further reduce colony number and suppress the growth of clonogenic cells formed by HL60 and U937 cells. LIF synergized with IL-6 to reduce colony number and enhance the suppression of the clonogenic U937 cells. The results suggest that these 4 glycoproteins, acting alone or in combination, may be able to suppress human leukemia cells of appropriate type and be of value in the clinical management of myeloid leukemia.