Abstract
Immunotoxins (ITs) are antibody-based reagents which generally consist of monoclonal antibodies(mAbs) and toxins or their subunits. For the last two decades studies of ITs have made great progress in treating cancers. More recently, possibilities of treating AIDS and some autoimmune diseases by ITs have stared to attract attentions of researchers who are looking for effective drugs for these intractable diseases. Previously constructed ITs for infectious diseases were mainly for HIV ; however, ITs for other viral infection are also valuable to be investigated. The only ITs so far studied for the treatment of autoimmune diseases are those specific for IL-2, IL-2 receptor, and L3T4. In this report, we discuss possible use of ITs for treatment of autoimmune diseases and viral infections referring to the latest related publications.
