In vitro augmentation of natural killer activity of peripheral blood cells from cancer patients by a DNA fraction from Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

Effects of a DNA-rich fraction from Mycobacterium bovis BCG (MY-1) on the natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from healthy donors and cancer patients were studied in vitro. The NK activity of PBL was assessed after incubating PBL for 24 hr in the presence or absence of MY-1 or that digested preliminarily with RNase or DNase. One microgram per ml of MY-1 or that digested with RNase augmented the NK activity of PBL from healthy donors. The activity of MY-1 was abolished by the digestion with DNase. Similarly, the NK activity in all of six patients with gastric cancer, 12 patients with colonic cancer, and six patients with uterine cancer was augmented by incubation with MY-1 (1 microgram/ml and 10 micrograms/ml), although the degree of augmentation varied depending upon the origin of PBL.