Death induced by administration of IL-18 plus IL-12 is critically dependent on the NK-cell compartment.

(A) SCID mice were depleted of NK cells by pretreatment with an anti-asialo GM1 antibody (see “Materials and methods”). Control mice were pretreated with injections of PBS. Mice in both groups subsequently received daily IP injections of IL-18 plus IL-12 and were monitored for survival. This experiment was repeated 3 times with similar results. (B) CD3ε transgenic mice (▵) received daily injections of IL-18 plus IL-12 via the IP route. Normal mice of the identical background served as controls (●). This experiment was repeated twice with similar results.