Augmenting antigen-specific T cell responses following vaccination using IL-7 cytokine complexes

BACKGROUND

The administration of cytokines and their derivatives can dramatically modulate immune responses.  Therapeutically, this can be useful for augmenting immunity against infection or cancer.  However, poor half life and other factors reduce the biological activity of many cytokines such as IL-7 when administered in vivo.  Recently however, it was discovered that the biological activity of cytokines could be dramatically improved by the generation of cytokine complexes.  Thus, complexes of cytokines and either soluble receptors or monoclonal antibodies exhibit dramatically increased biological activity compared with free cytokine.

TECHNOLOGY

Scientists at the University of San Diego (UCSD) have generated novel IL-7 cytokine complexes composed of human IL-7 and anti-human-IL-7 monoclonal antibody.  Despite the enhanced activity and broader ability of these cytokine complexes to act on a wide range of cells, IL-7 complexes were potent at enhancing the response of either donor or endogenous antigen-specific CD8+ T cells following vaccination.

COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL

The use of these IL-7 cytokine complexes will allow for the development of new immunotherapies including:

• enhancing anti-cancer immunity

• augmenting immunity against acute and chronic infection

• enhancing recovery following cytoreductive therapy

PATENT APPLICATION
US Patent application filed

Case numbers: 2007-327
Inquiries to:     invent@ucsd.ed