Interleukin-2 priming chemotherapy: a strategy to improve the remission of refractory/relapsed T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Regardless of the salvage therapy used, primary induction failure in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (refractory ALL) and relapse after a complete remission (CR) are associated with dismal outcomes. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) may be the best treatment option for relapsed/refractory ALL. However, the outcome of allo-HSCT is very poor when a patient is not in CR. Quiescent leukemia cells protect them from the commonly used cell cycle-specific chemotherapeutic agents. Interleukin-2 (IL-2), a very well characterized T cell growth factor, is responsible for the progression of T lymphocytes from the G0 to the S phase of the cell cycle. IL-2 receptors are present on malignant T cells. Interaction of IL-2 with the IL-2 receptor triggers T cell proliferation, but T cells must change from a resting to an activated state, which leads to the de novo synthesis of IL-2 and expression of the IL-2 receptor. Thus, exogenous IL-2 administration is pivotal for the activation of T cells. Based on the findings above mentioned, we hypothesized that IL-2 priming chemotherapy improves the remission of refractory/relapsed T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Department of Hematology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: chzhang2003@tom.com.
Cheng
C
Zhang
Xi
X
Zhang
Xing-Hua
XH
Chen
D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D054218:Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012074:Remission Induction / Q000379:methods*; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology
D007376:Interleukin-2