2. Academic Validation
  3. IL-12 and IL-23 cytokines: from discovery to targeted therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

IL-12 and IL-23 cytokines: from discovery to targeted therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

  • Nat Med. 2015 Jul;21(7):719-29. doi: 10.1038/nm.3895.
Michele W L Teng 1,  Edward P Bowman 2,  Joshua J McElwee 3,  Mark J Smyth 1,  Jean-Laurent Casanova 4,  Andrea M Cooper 5,  Daniel J Cua 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1] Cancer Immunoregulation and Immunotherapy and Immunology in Cancer and Infection Laboratories, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia. [2] School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
  • 2 Merck Research Laboratories, Palo Alto, California, USA.
  • 3 Merck Research Laboratories, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • 4 1] St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA. [2] Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, New York, USA. [3] Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM, Paris, France. [4] Pediatric Hematology and Immunology Unit, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Paris, France. [5] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, Paris, France.
  • 5 Trudeau Institute, Inc., Saranac Lake, New York, USA.
PMID: 26121196 DOI: 10.1038/nm.3895
Abstract

The cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12) was thought to have a central role in T cell-mediated responses in inflammation for more than a decade after it was first identified. Discovery of the cytokine IL-23, which shares a common p40 subunit with IL-12, prompted efforts to clarify the relative contribution of these two cytokines in immune regulation. Ustekinumab, a therapeutic agent targeting both cytokines, was recently approved to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and related agents are in clinical testing for a variety of inflammatory disorders. Here we discuss the therapeutic rationale for targeting these cytokines, the unintended consequences for host defense and tumor surveillance and potential ways in which these therapies can be applied to treat additional immune disorders.

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