New asthma targets: recent clinical and preclinical advances.
Current asthma therapy is directed at the relief of chronic inflammation or improving lung function through bronchodilation. These approaches treat the overt symptoms of asthma but do not approach underlying causes of the disease. Such therapies have limited efficacy and for a number of patients the disease remains poorly controlled. The short-term future of asthma therapy will probably focus on the treatment of multiple symptoms to provide improved lung function. Long-term approaches to asthma will have to focus on modulation of the mechanisms that are the underlying causes of the various asthmatic pathophysiologies. These targets include a number of TH2-type T-cell-generated cytokines and chemokines, G-protein-coupled receptors, TH2-related transcription factors, neurotrophins and adhesion molecules. Additional new targets and understanding of asthma may also arise from genetic analysis.
Department of Allergy, Schering-Plough Research Institute, 2015 Galloping Hill Road, MS-1600, Kenilworth, NJ 07033, USA. scott.greenfeder@spcorp.com
Scott
S
Greenfeder
John C
JC
Anthes
D000818:Animals; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000494:pharmacology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D018418:Th2 Cells
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D016207:Cytokines