The present invention relates to chimeric transmembrane immunoreceptors, named "zetakines," comprised of an extracellular domain comprising a soluble receptor ligand linked to a support region capable of tethering the extracellular domain to a cell surface, a transmembrane region and an intracellular signaling domain. Zetakines, when expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes, direct T cell activity to those specific cells expressing a receptor for which the soluble receptor ligand is specific. Zetakine chimeric immunoreceptors represent a novel extension of antibody-based immunoreceptors for redirecting the antigen specificity of T cells, with application to treatment of a variety of cancers, particularly via the autocrin/paracrine cytokine systems utilized by human maligancy. In a preferred embodiment is a glioma-specific immunoreceptor comprising the extracellular targeting domain of the IL-13R.alpha.2-specific IL-13 mutant IL-13(E13Y) linked to the Fc region of IgG, the transmembrane domain of human CD4, and the human CD3 zeta chain.