Cytokine
Small proteins immune cells use to talk to each other: alarms, recruitment calls, growth orders and stand-down signals. Some are cancer drugs, and a flood of them is the danger of certain immunotherapies.
Interleukins, interferons, tumour necrosis factor and chemokines each act on cells carrying the matching receptor; IL-2 drives T-cell growth and was one of the first immunotherapies (aldesleukin), interferon-alpha was used in melanoma and leukaemia, and engineered cytokines aim to keep the benefit while losing the toxicity. Tumours secrete cytokines that recruit suppressive cells and drive inflammation, and IL-6 is a major driver of cancer cachexia. When CAR-T cells or T-cell engagers activate en masse they release cytokines in a surge (cytokine release syndrome), treated by blocking IL-6 with tocilizumab.
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