Short-term culture with IL-2 is beneficial for potent memory chimeric antigen receptor T cell production

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been extensively used to boost the body's immune cells, especially T cells. IL-2 is a cytokine that for many years was used to activate and amplify T cells. Due to its potent T cell growth-inducing functions in vitro, for many years, IL-2 was used for the culture and expansion of various T cell products, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), T cell receptors T cells (TCR T), or genetically engineered cells with chimeric antigen receptors T cells (CAR T). Despite its positive effect on T cell production, the side-effect is not well studied. Here, we reported that long-term culture with IL-2 promotes terminal differentiation and impairs rather than boosts the function of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. However, short-term culture with IL-2 predominantly generates memory CAR T cell favorable for cancer treatment.