title: [Immunotherapy using IL-6 receptor as the target].
abstract: Monoclonal antibody-based therapy targeting interleukine-6 (IL-6) has been established as a treatment for autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and lymphoproliferative disease. IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine which plays pathological roles in Castleman's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and Crohn's disease. Many groups have been exploring the therapeutic approach to block the IL-6 signal, and tocilizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against human IL-6 receptor, has been the most intensively studied agent for clinical use. A series of clinical trials of tocilizumab have demonstrated the robustness of safety and efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of patients with above diseases. In this review, targeting IL-6 actions as an immunotherapy is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Wakayama Medical University.
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishimoto
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005871:Castleman Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6 / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6; C502936:tocilizumab