Reviews and feature articleThymic stromal lymphopoietin and allergic disease
Section snippets
TSLP biology
TSLP is a member of the 4-helix bundle cytokine family and a distant paralog of IL-7.6 Murine TSLP was discovered as an activity in the supernatants of a thymic stromal cell line capable of supporting immature B-cell proliferation and development.7, 8 Consistent with its similarity to IL-7, TSLP was shown to costimulate thymocyte proliferation and to promote B-cell lymphopoiesis.9, 10 Subsequently, a human homolog was identified by using in silico methods.11 Interestingly, human and murine TSLP
TSLP and allergic diseases
The first link of TSLP to allergic disease came from studies by Soumelis et al2 showing increased expression of TSLP in the lesional skin of patients with AD. Since then, numerous studies in both human subjects and mice have implicated TSLP in other atopic diseases, including asthma, AR, and food allergies.4, 5, 35 The following sections describe the disorders associated with TSLP and what is known about the mechanisms through which TSLP might act.
Clinical perspectives
Collectively, these data argue that the TSLP-TSLPR axis is an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of allergic inflammatory diseases. Because it is aberrant expression of TSLP that is associated with human allergic disease, blockade of the receptor or neutralization of the cytokine is a logical starting point. In fact, phase II studies are underway using a fully humanized anti-TSLP antibody (AMG 157; Amgen, Thousand Oaks, Calif) with asthma as the indication. Other likely indications
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Cited by (0)
Series editors: Joshua A. Boyce, MD, Fred Finkelman, MD, and William T. Shearer, MD, PhD
Support was provided by grants AI068731, AR056113, AR055695, HL098067, HL102708, and AR059058 from the National Institutes of Health and a grant from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: S. F. Ziegler has received research support from the National Institutes of Health; has received lecture fees from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; and has received travel support from the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.
Terms in boldface and italics are defined in the glossary on page 846.