Short-term anti-CD3 stimulation of lymphocytes in order to increase the in vivo activity of lymphocytes

摘要

The present invention is directed to a method of increasing the in vivo immune response of lymphocytes by stimulating the lymphocytes in vitro in the presence of an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody for less than about 24 hours to form stimulated lymphocytes; infusing the stimulated lymphocytes into a tumor-bearing mammal; and administering IL-2 to the mammal. As a result of this method, the anti-CD3 stimulated lymphocytes display enhanced immunotherapeutic, e.g., cytotoxicity or lymphokine production, in vivo as represented by a decrease in the number of tumors by at least about 20%.