Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a potent antitumour cytokine, but it is toxic when administrated systemically. This study demonstrates that murine IL-12 can be systemically delivered to hypoxic sites in solid tumours by Clostridium sporogenes, producing a clear delay in tumour growth and a 14·3% cure rate in a mouse tumour model. Importantly, there is no obvious toxicity associated with IL-12 during the treatment process. This result may be accounted for by the excellent tumour-targeting capacity of Cl. sporogenes, targeting IL-12 directly to the tumour site instead of to the entire body.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.