| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2831089 | Molecular Immunology | 2013 | 10 Pages |
•IL-2 offers no clinical benefit as adjuvant therapy in HIV infection.•IL-15 shows no efficacy in non-human primate SIV infection.•IL-7 treatment increases repertoire and function of T cells in HIV clinical trials.•IL-21 essential for effector CD8+ T cell function during chronic viral infection.•Clinical and pre-clinical data suggest promise for IL-7 and IL-21 co-therapy.
The continued global burden wrought by chronic infectious disease is unrelenting. Current therapies have curbed the severity of disease for patients, but Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B (HBV) infection remain incurable and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is rapidly becoming resistant to our existing antibiotics. Much attention has been given to enhancing T cell immunity through the use of certain common gamma-chain cytokines, which have proven to be essential and necessary for T cell survival and function. This article reviews the pre-clinical and clinical literature surrounding IL-2, IL-7, IL-15 and IL-21 and we comment on the potential therapeutic promise of these cytokines as adjuvant treatments for chronic infectious diseases.
