CD2 Specific Neutra™ Antibody Products

CD2 (cluster of differentiation 2) is a cell adhesion molecule and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily with two immunoglobulin-like domains. CD2 is predominantly expressed on the surface of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, interacting with other adhesion molecules and serving as a co-stimulatory molecule and a specific marker on these cells.

Its Gene ID: 914, UniProtKB ID: P06729, and OMIM ID: 186990.

Interactions of CD2

• The CD2-CD58 Axis

CD2 is the natural ligand of CD58 (also termed as lymphocyte function-associated antigen-3, LFA-3), which is primarily expressed on APCs, especially macrophages. CD2-CD58 axis plays an essential role in up-regulating the recognition and adhesion between the T cells and APCs, thus activating downstream signal transduction, which is imperative for T cell activation and immune responses. Previous studies have revealed that CD2-CD58 axis is the dominant costimulatory pathway for CD28⁻CD8⁺ CTLs.

Fig.1 CD2-CD58 interactions in clinical antitumor T cell responses.¹

• Modifying CD2 Co-Stimulation by CD16

CD16 (FcγRIII) is reported to be mutated or deleted in a few patients with EBV-associated pathologies, and elevated EBV viral loads is identified to be associated with the deficiency of CD16A. Previous studies have demonstrated that there is a direct association between CD16A and CD2 in patients with CD16A mutations who suffer from weakly controlled EBV infection, thus modifying NK cell cytotoxicity.

Fig.2 Modifying CD2 co-stimulation by CD16 in EBV-associated pathologies.²

• Interaction of CD2 and CD48

CD48 is also recognized as B-lymphocyte activation marker (BLAST-1). The molecular coupling of CD48 and CD2, along with other interaction pairs, like LFA-1 and ICAM-1, TCR and peptide-MHC, and CD28 and CD80, synergistically regulate the formation of the immunological synapse between APCs and T cells. In a study on insect cells transfected with murine CD2/ CD48, it is indicated that CD2 and CD48 can interact in cis to influence trans interactions.

Therapeutic Strategy of Targeting CD2 in Diseases

CD2 is involved with many diseases due to its functions in immune responses, making it a promising target for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A monoclonal anti-CD2 IgG1 antibody in clinical trials is demonstrated to induce NK cell fratricide via cell-mediated cytotoxicity, depleting NK cells and T cells and minimizing the off-target effects.

In murine models, CD2 enhances antigen-independent T-cell activation, while blockade or inhibition of CD2 reduces intestinal inflammation. A monoclonal antibody targeting CD2 exhibits encouraging effects in the prevention and treatment of colitis.

Besides, pre-stimulation of CD2 is reported to strengthen the resistance of resting T cells to HIV infection by triggering the polymerization of cofilin and actin, thus blocking HIV nuclear entry. The finding suggests that CD2 may serve as an available target to control HIV-1 infection of blood resting T cells.

Fig.3 Pre-stimulation of CD2 confers resistance to HIV-1 latent infection in blood resting CD4 T cells.³

Creative Biolabs offers 11 different anti-CD2 antibody products. These antibodies are recombinantly expressed and could be used for various purposes. Customization of CD2-based bispecific antibodies is also available for you here.

REFERENCES

1. Romain, Gabrielle, et al. "Multidimensional single-cell analysis identifies a role for CD2-CD58 interactions in clinical antitumor T cell responses." The Journal of clinical investigation 132.17 (2022).
2. Münz, Christian. "Co-stimulatory molecules during immune control of Epstein Barr Virus infection." Biomolecules 12.1 (2021): 38.
3. He, Sijia, et al. "Prestimulation of CD2 confers resistance to HIV-1 latent infection in blood resting CD4 T cells." Iscience 24.11 (2021).