title: The therapeutic potential of interleukin 10 in infection and inflammation.
abstract: Interleukin 10 (IL-10), a cytokine with inhibitory activity on inflammation and cell-mediated immune responses, holds enormous potential for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. In addition, IL-10 has also been implicated in the immunopathogenesis of a number of infectious diseases through the use of IL-10 knock-out or IL-10 transgenic mouse models. In this review, we delineate infectious and inflammatory conditions in which IL-10 has shown potential for therapeutic manipulation. Specifically, we review the role of IL-10 in human endotoxemia/sepsis and in HIV infection, conditions for which preliminary phase I trials have recently been undertaken. It is suggested that the therapeutic potential of IL-10 to selectively ameliorate human infectious and inflammatory processes can be realized through a careful selection of the clinical conditions in which patients are undergoing concomitant treatment with anti-microbial regimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada. akumar@med.uottawa.ca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Creery
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D019446:Endotoxemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D016753:Interleukin-10