Enhanced in vitro growth suppression of human glioblastoma cultures treated with the combination of recombinant fibroblast and immune interferons.

In the present study we have evaluated the effect of recombinant human fibroblast, IFN-beta ser, and immune, IFN-gamma, interferon, alone and in combination, on the proliferation of fifteen early passage human glioblastoma cell cultures. Explant cultures were established from glioblastoma tumor tissue obtained at the time of surgery. After sufficient outgrowth, cultures were dispersed with trypsin/versene and maintained as independent cell lines. IFN-beta ser induced a greater than or equal to 50% reduction in the 7 day growth of 6 of the 15 cultures. The majority of cultures, 9 of 15, displayed less than or equal to 50% growth suppression in comparison with control cultures after 7 days exposure to 2000 Units/ml of IFN-beta ser. When treated with 2000 Units/ml of IFN-gamma, only 1 of the 15 glioblastoma cultures exhibited a greater than or equal to 50% reduction in growth. In contrast, when treated with the combination of IFN-beta ser plus IFN-gamma, 1000 Units/ml of each interferon preparation, 12 of 15 cultures were inhibited by greater than or equal to 50% after 7 days growth. The combination of interferons was effective in suppressing glioblastoma growth both in cultures displaying relative sensitivity and those exhibiting innate resistance to either or both types of interferon when employed alone. One glioblastoma culture, G-7, was studied through 45 passages and displayed the same sensitivity at different passages to growth inhibition when exposed to IFN-beta ser, IFN-gamma or both interferons. Based on previous clinical studies indicating that IFN-beta or IFN-gamma when administered alone to patients do not generally alter the clinical progression of malignant gliomas, the present results suggest that the combination of IFN-beta plus IFN-gamma may prove more effective than either agent alone in the clinical treatment of patients with glioblastoma multiforme.