GM-CSF as a therapeutic target in inflammatory diseases

  • Mol Immunol. 2013 Dec;56(4):675-82. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2013.05.002.
Annemarie van Nieuwenhuijze  1 ,  Marije Koenders ,  Debbie Roeleveld ,  Matthew A Sleeman ,  Wim van den Berg ,  Ian P Wicks
Affiliations
  • 1. Inflammation Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Rheumatology and Advanced Therapeutics, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
PMID: 23933508 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2013.05.002
Abstract

GM-CSF is a well-known haemopoietic growth factor that is used in the clinic to correct neutropaenia, usually as a result of chemotherapy. GM-CSF also has many pro-inflammatory functions and recent data implicates GM-CSF as a key factor in Th17 driven autoimmune inflammatory conditions. In this review we summarize the findings that have led to the development of GM-CSF antagonists for the treatment of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and discuss some results of recent clinical trials of these agents.

Keywords
Autoimmune disease; Autoimmunity; Cytokines; GM-CSF; GM-CSF receptor; Inflammatory disease; Rheumatoid arthritis; T cells; Th17 pathway.
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