Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Ex vivo Expansion of Tumor-reactive T Cells by Means of Bryostatin 1/Ionomycin and the Common Gamma Chain Cytokines Formulation
Published on: January 14, 2011
Use of enhanced interleukin-2 formulations for improved immunotherapy against cancer
Rodney A Rosalia1, Natalia Arenas-Ramirez1, Grégory Bouchaud2
1Department of Immunology, University Hospital Zurich, Gloriastrasse 30, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
The use of interleukin-2 (IL-2) for the stimulation of an effector immune response against metastatic cancer dates back to the early 1980s. Administration of unmodified IL-2, either alone or together with antigen-specific approaches, has resulted in remarkably long-term survival of some patients suffering from metastatic melanoma. However, such treatment is usually hampered by the appearance of toxic adverse effects, which has motivated the engineering of modified IL-2 formulations showing reduced toxicity while being more potent at stimulating anti-tumor effector immune cells. In this review we summarize and discuss the features and biological relevance of several enhanced IL-2 formulations, compare these to IL-15-based therapeutics, and try to foreshadow their potential in immunological research and immunotherapy.
The use of interleukin-2 (IL-2) for the stimulation of an effector immune response against metastatic cancer dates back to the early 1980s. Administration of unmodified IL-2, either alone or together with antigen-specific approaches, has resulted in remarkably long-term survival of some patients suffering from metastatic melanoma. However, such treatment is usually hampered by the appearance of toxic adverse effects, which has motivated the engineering of modified IL-2 formulations showing reduced toxicity while being more potent at stimulating anti-tumor effector immune cells. In this review we summarize and discuss the features and biological relevance of several enhanced IL-2 formulations, compare these to IL-15-based therapeutics, and try to foreshadow their potential in immunological research and immunotherapy.
Related Concept Videos
Tumor Immunotherapy
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...

