: an interleukin produced by antigen-stimulated helper T cells in the presence of interleukin-1 that induces proliferation of immune cells (such as T cells and B cells) and is used experimentally especially in treating certain cancers
abbreviation IL-2

Examples of interleukin-2 in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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When chemicals known as antigens, found on the surfaces of foreign invaders, bind to the molecular receptors on the membrane of a T cell, the T cell receptor pathway is turned on, signaling the DNA in the cell nucleus to create and release a protein called interleukin-2. Gary Taubes, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 The researchers gave 185 patients with advanced melanoma one of two treatments: the vaccine and interleukin-2, or interleukin-2 alone. Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of interleukin-2 was in 1979

Dictionary Entries Near interleukin-2

Cite this Entry

“Interleukin-2.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interleukin-2. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.

Medical Definition

: an interleukin produced by antigen-stimulated helper T cells in the presence of interleukin-1 that induces proliferation of immune cells (as T cells and B cells) and has been used experimentally especially in treating certain cancers
abbreviation IL-2
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