Cytokine Therapies

Cytokines are protein messengers responsible for cellular communication with great therapeutic potential to control inflammatory and immune disorders such us cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Despite the solid scientific rationale for this therapeutic promise, many cytokine-related therapies have failed to establish clinical utility.

In March 2009, international experts from academia, industry and government convened to discuss the scientific and clinical basis for the successes and failures of recombinant cytokines and cytokine antagonists as therapeutic agents, and possible strategies for improving their clinical success. This volume included extended versions of key presentations at the meeting.

Participants examined:
• Improved methods for identifying disease targets
• Alternative methods for enhancing and targeting cytokine delivery
• Physicochemical modification of cytokines to prolong their bioavailability

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An overview of cytokines and cytokine antagonists as therapeutic agents 1

Pharmacologic administration of interleukin-2: inducing a systemic autophagic syndrome? 14

Perspective on potential clinical applications of recombinant human interleukin-7 28

Immune modulation with interleukin-21 39

Clinical and immunologic basis of interferon therapy in melanoma 47

Heterogeneous, longitudinally stable molecular signatures in response to interferon-beta 58

Clinical use of interferon-gamma 69

Interferon lambda as a potential new therapeutic for hepatitis C 80

Cytokines as targets for anti-inflammatory agents 88

Ustekinumab: lessons learned from targeting interleukin-12/23p40 in immune-mediated diseases 97

Blocking interleukin-1 in rheumatic diseases: its initial disappointments and recent successes in the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases 111

Rilonacept: CAPS and beyond, a scientific journey 124

Actobiotics as a novel method for cytokine delivery: the interleukin-10 case 135

Hurdles and leaps for protein therapeutics: cytokines and inflammation 146

Raymond P. Donnelly, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD.