Journal
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 172, Issue 7, Pages 3983-3988Publisher
AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS
DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.172.7.3983
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IL-2 is a potent T cell growth factor that for many years was assumed to amplify lymphocyte responses in vivo. Accordingly, IL-2 has been used clinically to enhance T cell immunity inpatients with AIDS or cancer, and blocking Abs to the IL-2R are used to inhibit T cell responses against transplanted tissues. It was later shown in mice that, unexpectedly, disruption of the IL-2 pathway results in lymphoid hyperplasia and autoimmunity rather than immune deficiency, indicating that the major physiological function of IL-2 is to limit rather than enhance T cell responses. This apparent paradox has recently been resolved with the discovery that IL-2 is critical for the development and peripheral expansion of CD4(+) CD25(+) regulatory T cells, which promote self-tolerance by suppressing T cell responses in vivo. Our new understanding of IL-2 biology prompts a re-evaluation of how best to clinically manipulate this important immunoregulatory pathway.
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