Emerging biotherapies for inflammatory bowel disease

The immunological and genetic pathogeneses of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been well studied, but not well elucidated in recent years. Accordingly, the pharmacological treatment of IBD is focusing upon the individual pathologic step (targeting therapy). It has recently become apparent that new drugs such as biological immunomodulating agents and anti-inflammatory cytokines have better short-term effects in some respects than conventional drugs, and they could change the treatment strategy of IBDs in the near future. Many options are now available to treat IBD. The choice depends on the type of IBD, the location of inflammation and the severity of symptoms. Many key processes in the inflammatory cascade have been targeted by cytokine and anticytokine therapies ranging from antigen presentation, T cell activation, overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and migration of inflammatory cells to blockade of effector signals. TNF-alpha plays an important role in the induction of other cytokines as well as in the upregulation of adhesion molecules in chronic IBDs, Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis. In fact, the most successful approaches so far in the treatment of IBD have been anti-TNF strategies. In contrast, the use of antiadhesion molecules strategies has been demonstrated to be ineffective in IBD.