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

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.