Interleukin-3 is a differentiation factor for human basophils
P Valent, G Schmidt, J Besemer, P Mayer, G Zenke, E Liehl, W Hinterberger, K Lechner, D Maurer and P Bettelheim
I. Medical Department, University of Vienna, Austria.
The effect of recombinant human (rh) cytokines, interleukin-1 alpha (IL- 1
alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-4 (IL- 4),
granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte
colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte/macrophage colony stimulating
factor (M-CSF), interferon-alpha (IF-alpha), interferon-gamma (IF-gamma),
and the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- alpha) on differentiation and
function of metachromatic cells (MCS) was studied. Among all cytokines
tested, rh interleukin-3 (rhIL-3) selectively induced a significant
formation of MCS (IL-3: 1.1 +/- 0.6 x 10(5) v control: 0.02 +/- 0.15 x
10(5) MCS/mL suspension) and dose dependent increase in formation of
intracellular histamine (IL-3, 100 U/mL: 95 +/- 23 ng/mL v control: 1.8 +/-
0.8 ng/mL) in a bone marrow suspension culture system (analyzed on day 14
of culture). Besides MCS, formation of eosinophils was observed in this
culture system in the continuous presence of rhIL-3, whereas IL-3
pulse-stimulation for three hours and subsequent exposure to control medium
induced growth of MCS but not of eosinophils. By combined
immunofluorescence/toluidine blue staining, MCS were found to express a
cell surface marker profile that corresponds to the immunological phenotype
of peripheral blood basophils (MY-7(CD13)+, VIM12(CD11b)+, VIM2+, MAX1-,
MAX24- and YB5B8- ). Furthermore, cultured MCS expressed surface membrane
receptors for IgE and could be triggered for nontoxic histamine release by
a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody. To evaluate a possible influence of IL-3 on
basophil function, studies were extended to freshly obtained blood
basophils (healthy volunteers, n = 3). However, like all other cytokines
tested, rhIL-3 failed to induce basophil histamine release. Taken together,
our studies demonstrate that IL-3 is a differentiation factor for human
basophils.
Volume 73,
Issue 7,
pp. 1763-1769,
05/15/1989
Copyright © 1989 by The American Society of Hematology
