Selected Aspects of the Immunopharmacology of Cytokines

Cytokines constitute a large group of macromolecules which mediate the development, activation and/or function of the various components of the immune system. This system may have beneficial effects as an essential instrument of defense against foreign microorganisms or transformed neoplastic cells, but it may also have deleterious effect in the pathogenesis of several types of autoimmune diseases. As the finely tuned mechanisms of immune activation and action are typified by their multiplicity and the diversity of their characteristics, they offer unique opportunities for selective pharmacological and immunopharmacological intervention. In this short article, four examples are briefly discussed which illustrate aspects of regulation of cytokine function in target cells (Mantovani), the cooperative role of cytokines in cell differentiation (Mertelsmann), the induction of certain cytokines by biological response modifiers (Schreiber), and the clinical application of anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) “humanized” antibodies in Rheumatoid arthritis (Feldman).