In the case of local IL-2 application, the therapeutic window spans several orders of magnitude.Some common side effects:
flu-like symptoms (fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue)
nausea/vomiting
dry, itchy skin or rash
weakness or shortness of breath
diarrhea
low blood pressure
drowsiness or confusion
loss of appetiteMore serious and dangerous side effects sometimes are seen, such as breathing problems, serious infections, seizures, allergic reactions, heart problems, kidney failure or a variety of other possible complications. The most common adverse effect of high-dose IL-2 therapy is vascular leak syndrome (VLS; also termed capillary leak syndrome). It is caused by lung endothelial cells expressing high-affinity IL-2R. These cells, as a result of IL-2 binding, causes increased vascular permeability. Thus, intravascular fluid extravasate into organs, predominantly lungs, which leads to life-threatening pulmonary or brain oedema.Other drawbacks of IL-2 cancer immunotherapy are its short half-life in circulation and its ability to predominantly expand regulatory T cells at high doses.Intralesional IL-2 used to treat in-transit melanoma metastases is generally well tolerated. This is also the case for intralesional IL-2 in other forms of cancer, like nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Pharmaceutical derivative
Eisai markets a drug called denileukin diftitox (trade name Ontak), which is a recombinant fusion protein of the human IL-2 ligand and the diphtheria toxin. This drug binds to IL-2 receptors and introduces the diphtheria toxin into cells that express those receptors, killing the cells. In some leukemias and lymphomas, malignant cells express the IL-2 receptor, so denileukin diftitox can kill them.
In medicine, hepatopulmonary syndrome is a syndrome of shortness of breath and hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the blood of the arteries) caused by vasodilation (broadening of the blood vessels) in the lungs of patients with liver disease. Dyspnea and hypoxemia are worse in the upright position (which is called platypnea and orthodeoxia, respectively). Pathophysiology
The hepatopulmonary syndrome results from the formation of microscopic intrapulmonary arteriovenous dilatations in patients with both chronic and far less common, acute liver failure. The mechanism is unknown but is thought to be due to increased liver production or decreased liver clearance of vasodilators, possibly involving nitric oxide.The dilation of these blood vessels causes overperfusion relative to ventilation, leading to ventilation-perfusion mismatch and hypoxemia. There is an increased gradient between the partial pressure of oxygen in the alveoli of the lung and adjacent arteries (alveolar-arterial [A-a] gradient) while breathing room air. Patients with HPS have platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS); that is, because intrapulmonary vascular dilations (IPVDs) predominate in the bases of the lungs, standing worsens hypoxemia (orthodeoxia)/dyspnea (platypnea) and the supine position improves oxygenation as blood is redistributed from the bases to the apices. Additionally, late in cirrhosis, it is common to develop high output failure, which would lead to less time in capillaries per red blood cell, exacerbating the hypoxemia. Diagnosis
The hepatopulmonary syndrome is suspected in any patient with known liver disease who reports dyspnea (particularly platypnea). Patients with clinically significant symptoms should undergo pulse oximetry. If the syndrome is advanced, arterial blood gasses should be measured on air.