Immunopharmacology: immunomodulation and immunotherapy
M. Ballow and R. Nelson
Immunopharmacology has changed dramatically over the past 25 years.
Although a variety of traditional nonspecific immunosuppressive drug
therapies are available for the treatment of autoimmune disease and organ
transplantation rejection, with advances in cell biology and monoclonal
antibody technology, a highly specific antibody can be engineered to cell
surface determinants on immune cells or tumors or to neutralize
inflammatory and immune mediators from an immune response. Many of these
modalities are still in early phases of study for the treatment of
autoimmune disease. In addition to therapies that suppress immune
responses, advances in molecular biology have led to new agents and methods
to enhance immune responses and correct immune deficits, such as growth
factor replacement and cytokine therapies. Finally, gene therapy is a
method for the long-term treatment of disorders in which a defective gene
leads to disease.
