Low-dose IL-2 for Treg Expansion and Tolerance (LITE)

NCT ID: NCT02949492

Last Updated: 2019-08-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: TERMINATED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE4
• Total Enrollment: 6 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-12-12
• Study Completion Date: 2019-01-31

Brief Summary

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress cytopathic immune responses and inhibit transplant rejection. Our goal is to exploit the Treg suppressive properties to induce transplantation tolerance. In contrast to effector T cells, Tregs constitutively express the high affinity IL-2 receptor, which makes them exquisitely sensitive to very low-doses of IL-2. We propose here to conduct a phase IV clinical trial in which we will test the capacity of low-dose IL-2 to promote the selective expansion of endogenous Tregs in liver transplant recipients at the time immunosuppressive drugs are being discontinued. We expect this will promote Treg accumulation within the transplanted liver, shift the balance between effector T cells and Tregs, and facilitate the development of operational tolerance in patients unlikely to reach this state spontaneously. We expect the trial to start shortly after the initiation of the project and to provide robust evidence on the efficacy of IL-2 within 47 months.

Detailed Description

Transplantation remains the most successful treatment for end-stage organ failure, but the need to administer life-long immunosuppression (IS) to prevent rejection limits patient survival. Liver transplantation is the only transplantation setting in which a sizeable proportion of patients spontaneously develop "operational tolerance", a phenomenon defined by the maintenance of stable graft function in the absence of destructive immune responses without the need of IS. Unfortunately this phenomenon preferentially develops in elderly recipients and several years after transplantation. To maximize the benefit derived from IS discontinuation there is a need to find strategies to intentionally induce tolerance in young recipients in whom accumulated IS toxicity has not yet occurred. Our studies have revealed that successful IS discontinuation is associated with a transient intra-graft immune regulatory response with preferential accumulation of regulatory T cells (Tregs). This suggests that short-term enhancement of Treg numbers and/or function at the time of IS withdrawal may facilitate the acquisition of tolerance in patients who are not predisposed to spontaneously develop it. IL-2 is a cytokine that is essential for the optimal development, survival and function of Tregs. Several clinical studies have shown that low-dose IL-2 preferentially expands Tregs and is safe and efficacious in patients with autoimmunity or GVHD. In these studies, Treg frequency increased up to 2 to 8-fold without significant changes in the number of effector T cells. Our objective is to investigate if administration of a short-course of low dose IL-2 to liver transplant recipients facilitates the discontinuation of IS. We propose to conduct a phase II, safety and efficacy, prospective, single-arm clinical trial in which liver recipients <50 years old and 2-6 years after transplantation will receive IL-2 and gradually discontinue their IS medication.

Conditions

Transplantation; Liver Diseases

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

IL-2 arm

Liver recipients \<50 years old and 2-6 years after transplantation will receive IL-2 and gradually discontinue their immunosuppressive medication

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

IL-2 (interleukin 2)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Low-dose IL-2 will be initiated while study participants remain on a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant. Following 4 weeks of treatment, participants showing at least a 2-fold increase in peripheral blood absolute Treg numbers, stable liver function and no adverse effects will undergo a liver biopsy to exclude sub-clinical graft damage, and subsequently will initiate immunosuppression withdrawal. Low-dose IL-2 will be maintained for a total of 6 months.

Interventions

IL-2 (interleukin 2)

Low-dose IL-2 will be initiated while study participants remain on a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant. Following 4 weeks of treatment, participants showing at least a 2-fold increase in peripheral blood absolute Treg numbers, stable liver function and no adverse effects will undergo a liver biopsy to exclude sub-clinical graft damage, and subsequently will initiate immunosuppression withdrawal. Low-dose IL-2 will be maintained for a total of 6 months.

Intervention Type: DRUG

Other Intervention Names

Proleukin

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Adult liver transplant recipients 2-6 years post-transplant and age <50 years;

2. Recipient of single organ transplant only;

3. Liver function tests: direct bilirubin and ALT <2 x ULN at the screening visit;

4. On calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) based IS; with or without one of the following: Low dose mycophenolic acid (≤ 1080 mg daily), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF ≤ 1500 mg daily), or azathioprine (≤ 150 mg daily);

5. Provision of written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

1.1. Serum positivity for HCV-RNA at screening; 2. Serum positivity for HIV-1 infection, HBV surface antigen or HBV-DNA at screening; 3. Active liver or systemic immune-mediated disease in which IS discontinuation is inadvisable (autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cirrhosis); 4. Acute or chronic rejection within the 52 weeks prior to screening; 5. GFR <40 mL/min (to mitigate the risk of worsening renal failure should rejection occur and high level of CNI be required); 6. The need for chronic anti-coagulation that cannot be safely discontinued to safely perform for a liver biopsy; 7. Screening liver biopsy showing signs of clinically significant histological damage will preclude continuation in the trial; 8. Maintenance immunosuppressive therapy with a mTOR inhibitor (sirolimus or everolimus); 9. Active infection or malignancy; 10. Inability to comply with study directed treatment; 11. Any medical condition that in the opinion of the principal investigator would interfere with safe completion of the trial (including severe cardiac disease, severe respiratory disease with O2 blood saturation <92%, any other major organ dysfunction, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of ECOG > 1).

12. Participation in another IMP study within 3 months from consent; 13. Any known allergy or intolerance to the IMP components; 14. Pregnancy or lactation; 15. Lack of effective methods of contraception for women and men of childbearing potential; 16. Hypersensitivity to Proleukin or to any of the excipients.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

King's College Hospital NHS Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

King's College London

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

King's College London

Locations

Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo

London, , United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

References

Lim TY, Perpinan E, Londono MC, Miquel R, Ruiz P, Kurt AS, Kodela E, Cross AR, Berlin C, Hester J, Issa F, Douiri A, Volmer FH, Taubert R, Williams E, Demetris AJ, Lesniak A, Bensimon G, Lozano JJ, Martinez-Llordella M, Tree T, Sanchez-Fueyo A. Low dose interleukin-2 selectively expands circulating regulatory T cells but fails to promote liver allograft tolerance in humans. J Hepatol. 2023 Jan;78(1):153-164. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2022.08.035. Epub 2022 Sep 7.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 36087863 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

LITE-01

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id