Treatment of corneal allograft rejection with the cytotoxin IL-2-PE40

Carl P. Herbort*, Marc D. de Smet, François G. Roberge, Robert B. Nussenblatt, David Fitzgerald, Haya Lorberboum-Galski, Ira Pastan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

IL-2-PE40 is a recombinant chimeric protein composed of IL-2, fused to a modified pseudomonas exotoxin. This molecule is extremely toxic to activated T cells expressing high-affinity IL-2R. We used this new molecule for selective immunosuppression to treat corneal allograft rejection in the rat, using Fisher and Lewis rats, a strain combination differing only in medial and minor histocompatibility antigens. The effect of IL- 2-PE40 on the immunologic response was studied using both a heterotopic corneal graft model and orthotopic grafts. At the dose of 0.31 pg/g given intraperitoneally every 12 hr, IL-2-PE40 produced a significant reduction of both total lymph node cells and cytotoxic-T-cell (CTL) activity in draining lymph nodes (DLN) of het- erotopically grafted animals. IL-2-PE40 treatment also significantly reduced the clinical rejection score and cumulative rejection rate (CRR) in orthotopic grafts and appears to be a very effective immunosuppressive agent.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)470-474
Number of pages5
JournalTransplantation
Volume52
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1991
Externally publishedYes

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