title: The promise of low-dose interleukin-2 therapy for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
abstract: Depletion of regulatory T (TReg) cells in otherwise healthy individuals leads to multi-organ autoimmune disease and inflammation. This indicates that in a normal immune system, there are self-specific effector T cells that are ready to attack normal tissue if they are not restrained by TReg cells. The data imply that there is a balance between effector T cells and TReg cells in health and suggest a therapeutic potential of TReg cells in diseases in which this balance is altered. Proof-of-concept clinical trials, now supported by robust mechanistic studies, have shown that low-dose interleukin-2 specifically expands and activates TReg cell populations and thus can control autoimmune diseases and inflammation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS 959, Immunology-Immunopathology-Immunotherapy (i3), F-75651 Paris, France. [2] INSERM, UMRS 959, Immunology-Immunopathology-Immunotherapy (i3), F-75005 Paris, France. [3] Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Biotherapy and Département Hospitalo-Universitaire Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy (i2B), F-75651 Paris, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klatzmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, California 94143-0511, USA.
authors.forename: Abul K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Abbas
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D007376:Interleukin-2