Low dose IL2 in autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, 2023, Graßhoff et al

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.648408/full
Low-Dose IL-2 Therapy in Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases

Hanna Graßhoff Sara Comdühr Luisa R. Monne Antje Müller Peter LamprechtGabriela Riemekasten Jens Y. Humrich*

• Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are crucial for the maintenance of peripheral tolerance and for the control of ongoing inflammation and autoimmunity. The cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) is essentially required for the growth and survival of Treg in the peripheral lymphatic tissues and thus plays a vital role in the biology of Treg. Most autoimmune and rheumatic diseases exhibit disturbances in Treg biology either at a numerical or functional level resulting in an imbalance between protective and pathogenic immune cells.

In addition, in some autoimmune diseases, a relative deficiency of IL-2 develops during disease pathogenesis leading to a disturbance of Treg homeostasis, which further amplifies the vicious cycle of tolerance breach and chronic inflammation. Low-dose IL-2 therapy aims either to compensate for this IL-2 deficiency to restore a physiological state or to strengthen the Treg population in order to be more effective in counter-regulating inflammation while avoiding global immunosuppression.

Here we highlight key findings and summarize recent advances in the clinical translation of low-dose IL-2 therapy for the treatment of autoimmune and rheumatic diseases

 

This looks naive to me. I have not looked beyond the abstract though.
I would like to see a much better rationale for giving IL-2 if I was on an ethics committee.

 

I think the very lengthy account of pilot trials and a few formal trials over 15 years shows that it probably doesn't work or is toxic. If it had worked it would have been licensed ten years ago.