Immune Therapy: Cytokines

Immune chemicals may hold hope for new treatments in HIV

January 2005     View PDF     En español

Conclusion

immune system, more is being learned about cytokines. There is increased interest in harnessing the language of the immune system to direct its responses and improve health. This research holds great potential, though the road to realizing it will likely be riddled with failed experiments and confounding results. Cytokine therapy is not merely a tool of the future—years from the grasp of our medicine cabinets. To the contrary, several cytokine therapies are now routinely used by many people living with HIV.

Furthest along in the research pipeline is IL-2. Answers about the value of IL-2 in combination with anti-HIV therapy are expected within the next 2–3 years. The hottest new tickets in the cytokine town are IL-7 and IL-15. Although neither has made a debut in studies of people with HIV, there’s not an immunology conference in HIV where they’re not the buzz. Activist involvement is needed to ensure these two therapies are researched in HIV.

A handful of other cytokines have been tested in HIV, with either negative or confounding results. They may make comebacks as more is learned about the language of the immune system and how it acts.