title: Targeting of IL-2 to cytotoxic lymphocytes as an improved method of cytokine-driven immunotherapy.
abstract: The use of high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) has fallen out of favor due to severe life-threatening side effects. We have recently described a unique way of directly targeting IL-2 to cytotoxic lymphocytes using a virally encoded immune evasion protein and an IL-2 mutant that avoids off-target side effects such as activation of regulatory T cells and vascular endothelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6173-8904
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lazear
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Courier Therapeutics , Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hein
authors.affiliation: Courier Therapeutics , Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westwick
authors.affiliation: Courier Therapeutics , Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology & Immunology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Daved H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Fremont
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander Sasha
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Krupnick
keywords: Cytokine; Interleukin-2 (IL-2); NKG2D; cytotoxic lymphocytes; immunotargeting; immunotherapy; natural killer cell (NK)