title: Targeted therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: The approach of targeting cytokines has dramatically improved the success in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The blocking of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha or interleukin (IL)-1 is well established in clinical practice, but a lack or loss of clinical response still occurs in up to 30% of RA patients. Therefore, enhanced efforts must be made to develop new strategies to disrupt the inflammatory process and to inhibit synovitis and joint destruction. In this respect, the blocking of IL-6 receptor with tocilizumab, the prevention of costimulatory T cell signals by abatacept, or targeting B cells with rituximab look promising in clinical trials. Furthermore, blocking intracellular signal transduction broadens the spectrum of targeted therapy. This article reviews recent clinical aspects of established anti-cytokine therapies and gives an insight into the experimental and clinical development of new specifically acting drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. marcus.koeller@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Marcus D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Köller
mesh_terms: D000069594:Abatacept; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D018796:Immunoconjugates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000069283:Rituximab; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013585:Synovitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D018796:Immunoconjugates; D007375:Interleukin-1; D007376:Interleukin-2; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000069283:Rituximab; D000069594:Abatacept; C502936:tocilizumab