Half-century after IL-2 discovery, its impact on HIV, cancer and blood safety is highlighted
Robert Gallo marks the 50-year anniversary of the 1976 paper that described interleukin-2, one of the first cytokines identified and essential for T-cell growth.
He notes that IL-2 enabled the discovery of the first human retroviruses, including the virus that causes a rare leukemia and later HIV, leading to the understanding that HIV causes AIDS.
The cytokine also underpinned the development of the blood-screening test that secured the blood supply and has been leveraged in cancer immunotherapy, illustrating how basic research can generate far-reaching clinical advances.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “Opinion: 50 years ago, my colleagues and I pursued basic research science that became revolutionary”
read at STAT ↗
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