title: IL-2, IL-7 and IL-15 as immuno-modulators during SIV/HIV vaccination and treatment.
abstract: While highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens have proven to be effective in controlling active HIV replication, complete recovery of CD4+ T cells does not always occur, even among patients with high level virologic control. Recent advances in understanding the biology of T cell production and homeostasis have created the potential to augment anti-viral therapies with immunotherapies designed to facilitate recovery of the HIV-damaged immune system, in particular, the recovery of CD4+ T cell populations. The common gamma-chain cytokines IL-2, IL-7 and IL-15 are primary regulators of T cell homeostasis and thus have been considered prime candidate immunotherapeutics, both for increasing T cell levels/function and for augmenting vaccine-elicited viral-specific T cell responses. Recent studies have established that these cytokines have distinct functional roles in immune homeostasis, which focus on specific T cell populations. The ability of these cytokines to provide immunotherapeutic benefit to HIV+ patients will depend on their ability to stably increase or functionally enhance the desired T cell target population without adverse virologic or clinical consequences.
authors.affiliation: Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Louis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Picker
authors.forename: Donald L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sodora
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000276:immunology*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000276:immunology*; D011323:Primates; D018449:SAIDS Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D016097:Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D019409:Interleukin-15; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015851:Interleukin-7; D018449:SAIDS Vaccines