Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39773310›Full record

ArticleJournal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR2025

Antibody-based delivery of interleukin-2 modulates the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and achieves cure in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma syngeneic mice.

Carmine Carbone, Roberto De Luca, Emanuele Puca, Antonio Agostini, Alessia Caggiano, Lorenzo Priori, Annachiara Esposito, Serena Ascrizzi, Geny Piro, Lisa Salvatore and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Tumor-targeted IL2 promotes specific CD8Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Cancer therapy resistance from a spatial-omics perspective.Clinical and translational medicine · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Carmine Carbone *Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Medical Oncology , Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5168-747X
Roberto De Luca *Philochem AG, Libernstrasse 3, Otelfingen, 8112, Switzerland.
Emanuele PucaPhilochem AG, Libernstrasse 3, Otelfingen, 8112, Switzerland.
Antonio AgostiniDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Medical Oncology , Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Alessia CaggianoDepartment of Translational Medicine, Medical Oncology , Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
Lorenzo PrioriDepartment of Translational Medicine, Medical Oncology , Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
Annachiara EspositoDepartment of Translational Medicine, Medical Oncology , Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
Serena AscrizziDepartment of Translational Medicine, Medical Oncology , Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
Geny PiroDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Medical Oncology , Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Lisa SalvatoreDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Medical Oncology , Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Francesco De SanctisDepartment of Medicine, Section of Immunology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Stefano UgelDepartment of Medicine, Section of Immunology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Vincenzo CorboDepartment of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Dario NeriDepartment of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, CH-8093, Switzerland.
Giampaolo TortoraDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Medical Oncology , Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Rome, Italy. giampaolo.tortora@policlinicogemelli.it.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and deadly type of cancer, with an extremely low five-year overall survival rate. To date, current treatment options primarily involve various chemotherapies, which often prove ineffective and are associated with substantial toxicity. Furthermore, immunotherapies utilizing checkpoint inhibitors have shown limited efficacy in this context, highlighting an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. This study investigates the preclinical efficacy of an innovative targeted therapy based on antibody-cytokine fusion proteins, specifically interleukin-2 (IL-2), a pivotal driver of cell-mediated immunity, fused to L19 antibody, which selectively binds to extra domain B of fibronectin (EDB-FN1) expressed in the tumor microenvironment.

methodsWe tested the effectiveness of different immunocytokines through in vivo characterization in syngeneic C57BL/6J orthotopic mouse models of PDAC. Based on these results, we decided to focus on L19-IL2. To assess the efficacy of this immunocytokine we developed an ex-vivo immune-spheroid interaction platform derived from murine 3D pancreatic cultures, and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) specific T-lymphocytes. Moreover, we evaluated the anti-cancer effect of L19-IL2 in combination with standard therapy in vivo experiments in PDAC mouse models. Tumor samples collected after the treatments were characterized for tumor infiltrating immune cell components by bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics (Stereo-seq) analysis.

resultsThe tumor-targeted L19-IL2 fusion protein demonstrated potent, dose-dependent anti-tumor activity in mice with pancreatic tumors resistant to standard chemotherapy. Spatial Transcriptomics (ST) and RNA-seq analyses indicated that L19-IL2 treatment induced a significant influx of immune cells into the tumor microenvironment, with these cells expressing activation markers like granzymes, perforins, and the IL-2 receptors.

conclusionsOur results demonstrated that L19-IL2 enhances immune infiltration and cytotoxicity, remodeling the "cold" tumor microenvironment (TME) in PDAC. This innovative antibody-cytokine fusion protein improves therapeutic outcomes, paving the way for novel targeted treatment strategies in PDAC.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalInterleukin-2Pancreatic NeoplasmsTumor MicroenvironmentAnimalsCell Line, TumorDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansMiceMice, Inbred C57BLRecombinant Fusion ProteinsInterleukin-2Recombinant Fusion ProteinsChemotherapyImmunocytokinesOrthotopic syngeneic mouse modelsPancreatic cancer

Identifiers

PMID39773310
PMCPMC11705946

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.