IL1R2 as a Radioligand Therapy Target
IL1R2, interleukin 1 receptor type 2, is a cell-surface protein (membrane receptor). In Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry, IL1R2 staining is highest in liver cancer (100% of samples positive), testicular cancer (100% of samples positive) and colorectal cancer (100% of samples positive). Published literature reports that IL1R2 internalizes after ligand binding, which helps retain a radionuclide inside tumor cells. Clinical status: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program).
Is IL1R2 a good radioligand therapy target?
Scored against the six criteria that decide whether a protein can become a radioligand therapy:
- ✅ Cell-surface accessibility: Localized to the cell surface, so a radioligand can reach it from circulation.
- ✅ Tumor expression: High IHC staining in liver cancer, 100% of samples positive.
- ✅ Internalization: Reported to internalize, which favors radionuclide retention.
- ⚠️ Clinical precedent: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program)
- ❔ Shedding: Not yet assessed.
- ❔ Normal-tissue dosimetry: Check kidney, liver, bone marrow and salivary expression in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas.
IL1R2 expression in cancer
Protein expression of IL1R2 across 20 cancer types from Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry. The score is a weighted staining intensity from 0 to 1; "% positive" is the share of patient samples with detectable staining.
| Cancer type | IHC score | Level | % positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liver Cancer | 0.81 | High | 100% |
| Testicular Cancer | 0.69 | High | 100% |
| Colorectal Cancer | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Head and Neck Cancer | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Breast Cancer | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Thyroid Cancer | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Neuroendocrine Tumors | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Bladder Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Endometrial Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Cervical Cancer | 0.61 | High | 92% |
| Pancreatic Cancer | 0.61 | High | 92% |
| Prostate Cancer | 0.61 | High | 92% |
| Glioma | 0.58 | High | 100% |
| Kidney Cancer | 0.56 | High | 92% |
| Skin Cancer | 0.47 | Medium | 100% |
| Melanoma | 0.47 | Medium | 100% |
| Lung Cancer | 0.47 | Medium | 92% |
| Ovarian Cancer | 0.39 | Medium | 100% |
| Gastric Cancer | 0.33 | Medium | 64% |
| Lymphoma | 0.31 | Medium | 58% |
Is IL1R2 internalized?
Yes. IL-1R2 participates in IL-1-dependent internalization.
Sources: PMID 38850793 · PMID 28261115. AI-extracted from abstracts, so verify before citing.
IL1R2 clinical trials
Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program). Nuclens hasn't indexed trials for IL1R2 yet. Search ClinicalTrials.gov for IL1R2 trials.
IL1R2 normal tissue expression
Normal-tissue expression in dose-limiting organs (kidney, liver, bone marrow, salivary glands) drives radioligand dosimetry risk. Nuclens is re-validating its normal-tissue values, so they are not shown here yet. See IL1R2 in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas, and read how normal-tissue expression predicts radioligand dosimetry risk.
IL1R2 gene essentiality (DepMap)
CRISPR knockout effect across 1243 cancer cell lines: 0.02 (not essential). Radioligands kill by radiation, not by blocking the target, so essentiality matters less than for inhibitors. A non-essential target can still be an excellent radioligand target.
Related liver cancer radioligand targets
EGFR · c-MET (MET) · HER3 (ERBB3) · SSTR2 · STEAP2 · HER2 (ERBB2) · Mesothelin (MSLN) · B7-H3 (CD276)
See all radioligand therapy targets in liver cancer.
See how IL1R2 ranks against 15,000 targets for your indication.
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Subcellular localization: UniProt via Open Targets (CC BY 4.0 / CC0). Tumor immunohistochemistry: Human Protein Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov (public domain). Gene essentiality: DepMap (CC BY 4.0). Internalization and shedding: AI-extracted from PubMed abstracts, so verify against the cited papers before relying on them. Nuclens is a first-pass triage layer, not a substitute for wet-lab validation or clinical dosimetry. Derived expression data on this page is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.