Engineered cytokine/antibody fusion proteins improve delivery of IL-2 to pro-inflammatory cells and promote antitumor activity.

ABSTRACT: Progress in cytokine engineering is driving therapeutic translation by overcoming the inherent limitations of these proteins as drugs. The interleukin-2 (IL-2) cytokine harbors great promise as an immune stimulant for cancer treatment. However, the cytokine's concurrent activation of both pro-inflammatory immune effector cells and anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells, its toxicity at high doses, and its short serum half-life have limited clinical application. One promising approach to improve the selectivity, safety, and longevity of IL-2 is complexation with anti-IL-2 antibodies that bias the cytokine towards the activation of immune effector cells (i.e., effector T cells and natural killer cells). Although this strategy shows therapeutic potential in preclinical cancer models, clinical t

SUBMITTER: Leonard EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10187205 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature