TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A pioneering and transformational discovery made 50 years ago helped establish the field of human retrovirology, advance understanding of the human immune system, and contribute to a revolution in cancer treatment.
A new Landmark Perspective in Science examines that history, beginning with the 1976 discovery by Robert C. Gallo, MD, and his colleagues of a human T-cell growth factor later named interleukin-2 (IL-2).
Written by Rafi Ahmed, PhD, director of the Emory Vaccine Center, and Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, chief of the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute, the Perspective marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Gallo’s seminal Science paper and examines the discoveries and medical advances that followed.
For the Global Virus Network (GVN), which Dr. Gallo co-founded and where he serves as Chair of the Scientific Leadership Committee, the anniversary is especially meaningful. The discovery of IL-2 enabled scientists to grow and maintain human T cells in culture over extended periods, facilitating Dr. Gallo and his colleagues’ discovery of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, the first human retroviruses, and establishing the field of human retrovirology. The ability to culture human T cells also proved critical to the discovery and characterization of HIV and the development of the HIV blood test. It became central to subsequent advances in immunology and cancer treatment, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy and CAR-T cell therapy.
“IL-2 fundamentally changed what was possible in human retrovirology,” said William W. Hall, MD, PhD, co-founder of GVN, director of its Center of Excellence at University College Dublin in Ireland and professor emeritus at UCD. “For the first time, we could maintain and expand human T cells in culture, giving us the ability to isolate and characterize human retroviruses in ways that had not been possible before. Mark Kaplan and I used IL-2-treated lymphocytes to isolate multiple strains of HTLV-2. Fifty years later, it is remarkable to see what followed, from the discovery of the first human retroviruses to advances in HIV research and cancer immunotherapy.”
The anniversary comes as governments and research institutions around the world weigh how much to invest in biomedical science, particularly basic research that may have no obvious application when the work begins.
“It is a timely reminder of what a wonderful, inspiring, paradigm-shifting scientist Bob Gallo is, and continues to be and how privileged we all are to have him in our lives,” said Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, GVN Board member and associate scientific director of CAPRISA, a GVN Center of Excellence in South Africa. “These findings from five decades ago highlight what enduring, game-changing scientific breakthroughs look like and why ongoing investments in curiosity research remain critical to advance human health.”
Cancer immunotherapy was certainly not what Dr. Gallo and his colleagues had in mind when this work began. They studied human blood cells and investigated leukemia and lymphoma, including a question many scientists at the time doubted was worth pursuing: Did human retroviruses exist? Learning how to keep human T cells alive and growing in the laboratory allowed them to find out. It also gave scientists a tool that would prove useful far beyond the original research.
“The legacy of IL-2 is still being written,” said Anders Vahlne, MD, PhD, professor emeritus in clinical virology at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, home to a GVN Center of Excellence, and a member of the GVN Board Executive Committee. “Being first to make a fundamental discovery can change the direction of science. IL-2 opened new areas of research, and generations of scientists have taken that discovery in directions no one could have predicted in 1976. Fifty years later, we are still seeing its impact.”
The new Science Perspective grew out of a scientific gathering held earlier this year in Tampa. The inaugural Microbes, Genes & Cancer Symposium, hosted by the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute and USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in partnership with GVN, brought together more than 100 internationally recognized investigators in virology, immunology, oncology and microbial oncogenesis. A special session marking the 50th anniversary included Drs. Gallo, Ahmed and Rosenberg.
“IL-2 became an essential tool in human retrovirus research, including the work in Dr. Gallo’s laboratory at the National Cancer Institute and at the Institut Pasteur in France that led to the discovery of HIV and helped establish it as the cause of AIDS,” said Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, vice chair and president emeritus of the Global Virus Network; director of the USF Microbiomes Institute; professor at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; and former president of the Institut Pasteur, a GVN Center of Excellence in France. “It shows how a discovery made in one laboratory can enable advances across institutions, countries and fields of science.”
The scientific exchange will continue March 11–13, 2027, in Venice, Italy, at the 2nd Microbes, Genes & Cancer Symposium. Scientists from around the world will examine new developments in immunology, cancer biology, microbial oncogenesis and translational medicine. The meeting will be held in partnership with the annual European LeukemiaNet/Kompetenznetz Leukämien Symposium, the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute and GVN.
“IL-2 also speaks to the purpose of the Global Virus Network and the inspiration it draws from Bob Gallo every day,” said Mathew Evins, chief executive officer, treasurer and founding board member of GVN. “Breakthroughs depend on extraordinary scientists, who are not constrained by convention and sustained investment as well as the exchange of ideas and expertise that transcends borders, disciplines, ideologies and institutions. GVN was formed to consequentially strengthen scientific and institutional collaboration and help scientists pursue discoveries the significance of which may not be understood for years to come.”
Dr. Gallo remains actively engaged in scientific research and leadership. In addition to his role with GVN, he is founding director of the University of South Florida Institute for Translational Virology and Innovation (ITVI), James P. Cullison Professor of Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the Microbial Oncogenesis Program at the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute. GVN’s International Headquarters is co-located with ITVI at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
For Dr. Gallo, the history of IL-2 offers a straightforward lesson about scientific discovery. Research with enormous practical consequences can begin with questions for which no practical application is yet visible.
“The obvious research is often about what is not obvious,” Dr. Gallo said.
Media Contact:
Nora Samaranayake
nsamaranayake@gvn.org
Global Virus Network
About the Global Virus Network
The Global Virus Network (GVN) is a worldwide coalition comprising 90+ Virology Centers of Excellence and Affiliates across 40+ countries, whose mission is to facilitate pandemic preparedness against viral pathogens and diseases that threaten public health globally. GVN advances knowledge of viruses through (i) data-driven research and solutions, (ii) fostering the next generation of virology leaders, and (iii) enhancing global resources for readiness and response to emerging viral threats. GVN provides the essential expertise required to discover and diagnose viruses that threaten public health, understand how such viruses spread illnesses, and facilitate the development of diagnostics, therapies, and treatments to combat them. GVN coordinates and collaborates with local, national, and international scientific institutions and government agencies to provide real-time virus informatics, surveillance, and response resources and strategies. GVN's pandemic preparedness mission is achieved by focusing on Education & Training, Qualitative & Quantitative Research, and Global Health Strategies & Solutions. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org.
