What is Interleukin-2?
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a protein made by the body. T-helper cells, a kind of white blood cell, produce IL-2 when they are stimulated by an infection. IL-2 makes infection-fighting cells multiply and mature. Patients who use IL-2 have large increases in their CD4 cell counts. IL-2 is called an immune modulator. Interleukin-2 has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of some types of cancer, but has not yet been approved for the treatment of HIV disease. Health care providers can use it “off label” in patients with HIV (see Fact Sheet 105). Using gene splicing, the Chiron Corporation developed a way to manufacture IL-2. Their version is called Proleukin.
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a protein that occurs naturally in your body and plays an important role in activating your immune system. The immune system protects the body from foreign substances, cells, and tissues by responding to and resisting diseases. PROLEUKIN therapy is a genetically engineered or recombinant version of IL-2. PROLEUKIN therapy possesses the same properties as naturally occurring IL-2 and helps activate the immune system to recognize and eliminate certain kinds of cancer cells. Your immune system is composed of various types of cells that kill and remove foreign substances from the body. IL-2 activates specialized defense cells called T cells and natural killer (NK) cells to help attack and destroy invading germs or diseases. IL-2 can also stimulate these cells to attack and destroy cancerous tumors. PROLEUKIN therapy differs from other treatments for metastatic melanoma and metastatic kidney cancer because it’s an immunotherapy. Instead of directly inhibiting cancer
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a protein made by the body. T-helper cells, a kind of white blood cell, produce IL-2 when they are stimulated by an infection. IL-2 makes infection-fighting cells multiply and mature. Patients who use IL-2 have large increases in their CD4 cell counts. IL-2 is called an immune modulator. Interleukin-2 has been approved by the FDA to treat some types of cancer, but has not yet been approved for HIV disease. Health care providers can use it “off label” in patients with HIV (see Fact Sheet 105). Using gene splicing, the Chiron Corporation developed a way to manufacture IL-2. Their version is called Proleukin.
A. Interleukin-2 or IL-2, is a cytokine, (or small protein) that is naturally produced by cells of the immune system. IL-2 is approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma and kidney cancer. For additional information about the IL-2 Unit at Columbia Presbyterian open the IL-2 Immunotherapy icon.
Interleukin-2 is the only drug approved in the US for the treatment of metastatic RCC. It is also approved in many other countries. But IL-2 isn’t just a drug. IL-2 is a natural part of your immune system, a messenger protein called a cytokine which activates parts of your immune system. IL-2 does not kill tumor cells directly like classical chemotherapy. Instead, IL-2 activates and stimulates the growth of immune cells, most importantly T-Cells, but also Natural Killer Cells (NK Cells), both of which are capable of destroying cancer cells directly. There are several types of T-Cells but, without going into detail, certain T-Cells are capable of killing tumor cells if they recognize a specific antigen on the surface of the tumor cell. Antigens are normally proteins. Each T-Cell is specific for only one antigen but you have many different T-Cells. NK Cells have the ability to kill tumor cells without needing to recognize a specific antigen (I’m not sure how!). While this sounds good, NK
