Tipping the balance toward transplantation tolerance: in vivo therapy using a mutated IL-2

J Clin Invest. 2024 Mar 1;134(5):e178570. doi: 10.1172/JCI178570.

Abstract

Immune tolerance to allogenic transplanted tissues remains elusive, and therapeutics promoting CD4+FOXP3+ Tregs are required to achieve this ultimate goal. In this issue of the JCI, Efe and colleagues engineered an Fc domain fused to a human mutein IL-2 (mIL-2-Fc) bearing mutations that confer preferential binding to the high-affinity IL-2 receptor expressed on Tregs. In vivo mIL-2-Fc therapy effectively heightened mouse, monkey, and human Treg numbers, promoted tolerance to minor antigen mismatched skin grafts in mice, and synergized with immunosuppressive drugs used in the clinic. These findings warrant clinical trials that assess the efficacy of mIL-2-Fc in transplantation.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Humans
  • Immune Tolerance
  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Interleukin-2* / genetics
  • Interleukin-2* / pharmacology
  • Mice
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
  • Transplantation Tolerance* / genetics

Substances

  • Interleukin-2
  • Immunosuppressive Agents