Synergistic effect of natural human tumor necrosis factors alpha and beta in the clonogenic assay.

We tested the antiproliferative effect induced by the natural human tumor necrosis factors alpha and beta (nHuTNF-alpha, -beta) or a combination of these in the clonogenic assay. The antiproliferative effects were evaluated by examining the inhibition of clonogenic growth of RPMI-4788 cells, which had been established from a human colon cancer. TNF-alpha and -beta were natural human types produced by a B cell leukemia line (BALL-1 cells) and were both over 99% pure. The antiproliferative effect in combination of nHuTNF-alpha and -beta was analysed by using the median effect plot and the combination index. The results indicate a synergism between two factors.