In vitro action of tumor necrosis factor on myeloid leukemia cells.

We investigated the in vitro action of recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) on the clonal growth of normal and malignant myeloid cells. Clonogenic cells from six of nine myeloid leukemia cell lines were very sensitive to the effects of TNF with 50% of the colonies inhibited (ED50) by concentrations of TNF that ranged between 6 and 150 U/mL. A decrease in DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis and in cloning efficiency occurred within three hours of exposure of HL-60 promyelocytes to TNF. The TNF in combination with recombinant interferons produced an additive or synergistic inhibition of colony formation of HL-60 and THP-1 myelomonoblasts. Normal human CFU-GM are sensitive to TNF (ED50 between 100 and 50,000 U/mL), but their sensitivity to TNF depends on the source of colony stimulating factor (CSF) with T lymphocyte derived GM-CSF (recombinant or natural) partially protecting the CFU-GM from the suppression exerted by TNF (and interferons). In eight of 15 cases the clonogenic myeloid leukemia cells from patients with acute or chronic myeloid leukemia were more sensitive than normal CFU-GM using GM-CSF as a source of colony stimulating activity. Further studies showed that the action of TNF on myeloid leukemia cells probably can be only partially explained by differentiation. Our finding of a possible selective cytotoxicity to leukemic clonogenic cells by TNF suggests that TNF may have value in the therapy of some patients with myeloid leukemia.