Anti-interleukin-13 antibody therapy for asthma: one step closer

Abstract

Current guidelines for the treatment of asthma recommend inhaled corticosteroids for all patients with persistent asthma. Despite the increasing use of these drugs, asthma remains poorly controlled in a small subset of individuals who do not respond fully to existing therapies. The medical needs of these patients have prompted a search for new medications that inhibit specific molecular targets thought to play key roles in asthma pathogenesis. Interleukin (IL)-13 is a cytokine that represents a potential critical factor in the development and persistence of asthma. Originally discovered in 1993, IL-13 was identified by molecular cloning in activated human T-lymphocytes [1]. Subsequent in vitro studies have demonstrated that IL-13 has a broad range of activities, including effects upon lymphocytes (switching of immunoglobulin isotype synthesis by B-cells from immunoglobulin (Ig)M to IgE [2]), eosinophils (increased adhesion to the vascular endothelium [3] and augmentation of cell survival [4]), mast cells (proliferation and activation [5]), epithelium (increased epithelial permeability [6], and induction of goblet cell differentiation and growth [7]), fibroblasts (transformation into myofibroblasts and production of collagen [8]) and smooth muscle (diminished relaxation in response to β-agonists [9] and augmentation of contractility in response to acetylcholine [10]). In tandem with the above in vitro experiments, the potential role of IL-13 in airways disease has been …