interleukin-2

noun

in·ter·leu·kin-2 | \ˌin-tər-ˈlü-kən-ˈtü

Definition of interleukin-2

: an interleukin produced by antigen-stimulated helper T cells in the presence of interleukin-1 that induces proliferation of immune cells (such as T cells and B cells) and is used experimentally especially in treating certain cancers

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Eventually, the company produced a partly synthetic DNA code that modified interleukin-2 and similar molecules to eliminate the immune-suppressing effects, Shawver said. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "La Jolla biotech raises $63 million to make cancer drugs from artificial DNA," 30 Apr. 2018 One of these proteins, called interleukin-2, has been studied for decades as an immune-stimulating cancer therapy. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "La Jolla biotech raises $63 million to make cancer drugs from artificial DNA," 30 Apr. 2018 She was also given interleukin-2, a substance that stimulates killer T-cells. — Denise Grady, New York Times, "1 Patient, 7 Tumors and 100 Billion Cells Equal 1 Striking Recovery," 7 Dec. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interleukin-2.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of interleukin-2 was in 1979

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interleukin-2

noun

\-ˈtü

Medical Definition of interleukin-2

: an interleukin produced by antigen-stimulated helper T cells in the presence of interleukin-1 that induces proliferation of immune cells (as T cells and B cells) and has been used experimentally especially in treating certain cancers —abbreviation IL-2