IL-2 Therapy Restores Regulatory T-cell Dysfunction Induced by Calcineurin Inhibitors

摘要

egulatory T (Treg) cells are one of the major contenders ' in the field of transplant tolerance, and with trials in full swing, an accessible clinical therapy is fast approaching. The reality of introducing new therapies to transplantation, however, is complicated by the presence of regimens which already produce excellent short-term results. Immunosup-pression withdrawal may help reveal the effects of a new therapy but is risky. The lack of useful primary outcome measures other than biopsy-proven rejection, and the inability for clinical trials to monitor outcomes over the long-term further complicate the situation. The current status is therefore to introduce cellular therapies, such as Treg cells, into a cocktail of active immunosuppressants with the risk that these completely neutralize any beneficial effect. Understanding how Treg cells behave in these situations is therefore vital. In the experimental setting, the challenge is separating the effects of drug immunosuppres-sion from those of Treg cells.