Scientific publications

Gene therapy of cancer with interleukin-12

Jun 1, 2003 | Magazine: Current Pharmaceutical Design

Mazzolini G, Prieto J, Melero I.
Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (FIMA), School of Medicine and Clínica Universitaria, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain


IL-12 has demonstrated remarkable antitumor activity when used directly as a recombinant protein or when different viral or non-viral vectors transfer its genes. At enhancing tumor immunity, IL-12 acts as a bridge between innate and adaptive immune responses due to its ability to induce proliferation and activation of NK, NKT, and T cells. In addition, IL-12 inhibits tumor angiogenesis mainly through IFN gamma-dependent production of the chemokine IP10. As a result, IL-12 can eliminate several types of tumors developed in rodents.

Pre-clinical experience forecasted a quick and successful clinical translation, but the encouraging results observed in animals were not reproduced in patients. Moreover, unacceptable toxicity resulting from IFN gamma overproduction was observed in 2 renal carcinoma patients included in a phase II clinical trial that consisted in systemic administration of rIL-12. As a consequence, development of IL-12 as an antitumor agent was temporarily halted while the high expectations raised among clinicians faded away. Gene transfer methods are designed to confine IL-12 production in the tumor environment preventing systemic toxicity. Tumor cells, dendritic cells, or autologous fibroblasts have been transfected with recombinant adenoviruses or retroviruses to secrete IL-12 locally, showing good efficacy and safety profiles. IL-12 combination with other immunotherapy approaches synergizes to achieve even better results. Encouraging pilot clinical results have been recently obtained from the first phase I trial studying adenovirus mediated in vivo gene transfer of IL-12 into lesions of advanced cancer patients.

Further improvements will follow from: i) increases in the efficacy of gene transduction; ii) development of tumor specific promoters; iii) development of regulatable and long-term expression vectors and iv) combination with other immunological and non-immunological anticancer therapies.

CITATION  Curr Pharm Des. 2003;9(24):1981-91