Dr. Gonzalez-Junca on Combining IL-21 and IL-15 in NK-Cell Therapy

Alba Gonzalez-Junca, PhD, discusses combining IL-21 and IL-15 cytokines in NK-cell thearpy.

Alba Gonzalez-Junca, PhD, associate director, senior scientist, Cancer Immunotherapy, Senti Biosciences, discusses combining IL-21 and IL-15 cytokines in NK-cell thearpy.

There is previous data in the CAR T-cell space demonstrating advantages of combining IL-21 and IL-15 cytokines, though this has not been shown on NK cells, Gonzalez-Junca says. The use of IL-21 alone did not generate much activity with NK cells, based on screening results, Gonzalez-Junca adds. IL-15 increased the killing compared with CAR T-cell therapy alone, and the combination of IL-15 and IL-21 demonstrated the ability to control the tumor in vitro, Gonzalez-Junca explains.

Further research into the calibrated release of IL-15 and IL-21 is ongoing, Gonzalez-Junca continues. In addition to IL-21 and IL-15, other cytokines, such as IL-7, are being explored to examine if they can elicit similar activity, Gonzalez-Junca concludes.

Related Videos
Brian A. Van Tine, MD, PhD
Jason Luke, MD, FACP
Katherine B. Peters, MD, PhD
Yasushi Goto, MD
Prithviraj Bose, MD, associate professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Jun Ma, MD
Hussein A. Tawbi, MD, PhD
Katsumori Asai, MD, PhD
Bernard Doger de Spéville, MD, PhD
Related Content