Fig. 5.

IL-2 administration enhances Th17 engraftment and tumor control. a, b Administration of IL-2/mAb complexes augments the expansion of Th17 cells adoptively transferred into irradiated recipients. Donor Th17 cell (CD4⁺Vb14⁺CD45.2⁺) persistence in peripheral blood (a) and spleen (b) after adoptive transfer into 6 Gy irradiated CD45.1⁺ mice which received IL-2/mAb complexes or vehicle after adoptive transfer. Graphs show mean plus/minus standard error of 4–5 mice per group, representative of two independent experiments (a), ** p < .01 by two-tailed t test assuming equal variance (b). c, d IL-17/IFNγ production and CD62L expression of donor Th17 cells following adoptive transfer with or without IL-2/mAb complexes. Graphs show mean plus standard error of 4–5 mice per group, representative of two independent experiments (cytokine production), **p < .01 by 2-tailed t test assuming unequal variance (CD62L expression). e IL-2/mAb complex administration improves efficacy of Th17 adoptive transfer. B6 mice-bearing established B16 melanomas received adoptive transfer of 5 × 10⁵ TRP-1 Th17 cells plus IL-2/mAb complex or vehicle and tumor size was measured at the indicated timepoints. Each line represents one mouse. f Survival of tumor bearing mice receiving adoptive transfer with or without IL-2/mAb complexes. Survival curves for deaths due to any cause (top) or only deaths attributable to tumor burden (tumor area > 400mm²) (bottom), survival data was pooled from two independent experiments with a total of 13–16 mice or 5–8 mice per group for all cause and tumor-specific mortality, respectively, *p < .05, ** p < .01, ***p < .001 by log-rank test