Interleukin-2 induced immune effects in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving intermittent interleukin-2 immunotherapy

✍ Scribed by Joseph A. Kovacs; Susan Vogel; Julia A. Metcalf; Michael Baseler; Randy Stevens; Joseph Adelsberger; Richard Lempicki; Richard L. Hengel; Irini Sereti; Laurie Lambert; Robin L. Dewar; Richard T. Davey; Robert E. Walker; Judith Falloon; Michael A. Polis; Henry Masur; H. Clifford Lane

• Book ID: 101385359
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 268 KB
• Volume: 31
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/1521-4141(200105)31:5<1351::aid-immu1351>3.0.co;2-9

✦ Synopsis

To characterize the immunological effects of intermittent IL-2 therapy, which leads to selective increases in CD4 + T lymphocytes in HIV-infected patients, 11 patients underwent extensive immunological evaluation. While IL-2 induced changes in both CD4 + and CD8 + cell number acutely, only CD4 + cells showed sustained increases following discontinuation of IL-2. Transient increases in expression of the activation markers CD38 and HLA-DR were seen on both CD4 + and CD8 + cells, but CD25 ( § chain of the IL-2 receptor) increased exclusively on CD4 + cells. This increase in CD25 expression was sustained for months following discontinuation of IL-2, and was seen in naive as well as memory cells. IL-2 induced cell proliferation, but tachyphylaxis to these proliferative effects developed after 1 week despite continued IL-2 administration. It thus appears that sustained CD25 expression selectively on CD4 + cells is a critical component of the immunological response to IL-2, and that intermittent administration of IL-2 is necessary to overcome the tachyphylaxis to IL-2-induced proliferation.