title: Anti-IL-4/-13 based therapy in asthma.
abstract: It is recognised that airway inflammation is key to asthma pathogenesis. Biopharmaceutical approaches have identified new therapies that target key cells and mediators that drive the inflammatory responses in the asthmatic lung. Such an approach resulted in the development of biologics targeted at inhibition of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13. However, early clinical trials with these biologics in patients with asthma were for the most part disappointing even though they were highly effective in animal models of asthma. It is becoming apparent that significant clinical effects with anti-cytokine-based biologic therapies are more likely in carefully selected patient populations that take asthma phenotypes into account. The development of discriminatory biomarkers and genetic profiling may aid identification of such patients with asthma. This review is an update of the evidence demonstrating the effectiveness or otherwise of the targeting of the TH2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 with biologics in patients with asthma.
authors.affiliation: a University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Division of Applied Medicine, Section of Immunology and Infection , Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK +44 0 1224 437354 ; +44 0 1224 437348 ; g.m.walsh@abdn.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Garry M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001688:Biological Products / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D001688:Biological Products; D018793:Interleukin-13; D015847:Interleukin-4
keywords: IL-13; IL-4; asthma; discriminatory biomarkers