Whether you spare the rod or wield it freely, you risk spoiling the cell-based cancer therapy. The rod in this case is interleukin-2 (IL-2), a signaling chemical that awakens T cells to their cancer-fighting duties. Letting up on the IL-2 allows T cells to err on the side of sloth. Persistent administration, however, raises the risks of serious side effects. To circumvent this dilemma, scientists based at Stamford University worked out a unique approach. They would brandish a modified IL-2, one that would bind only to a modified IL-2 receptor. Of course, both the modified signaling molecule and the modified receptor would have to be engineered. Also, the modified receptor would have to be introduced to T cells. Accomplishing these tasks would allow the scientists to develop an adoptive cell therapy regimen that could maintain T cell discipline without inflicting tissue-damaging inflammation. That, at least, was the ...
Original Article: Cell-Based Cancer Therapy Prodded by Custom IL-2 Keeps Going and Going