Detailed Description
WSU researchers have cloned and patented chicken IL-2 and related avian lymphokines for use as avian vaccine adjuvants. The inventors have shown experimentally that chicken IL-2 can enhance vaccine effectiveness in chickens. Future research to further enable this technology will likely include optimization of delivery methods. IL-2 has a short serum half-life and for maximum efficacy must be attached to or closely associated with the vaccine antigen(s). Various studies have utilized chicken IL-2 fused to antigen expressed by viral vaccine vectors and expressed in DNA vaccines. In general the addition of IL-2 has enhanced both the magnitude and the quality of immune responses. A significant patent portfolio with foreign rights is available.
File Number: 95-344