immunology allergic disorders
Immunotherapeutics
Recombinant cytokines
, granulocyte CSF (G-CSF), and granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), are used in patients undergoing chemotherapy or transplantation for hematologic disorders and cancers and in patients with severe chronic neutropenia (see table Some Immunotherapeutic Agents in Clinical Use ). Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and IFN-gamma are used to treat cancer, immunodeficiency disorders, and viral infections; IFN-beta is used to treat relapsing Anakinra, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is a recombinant, slightly modified form of the naturally occurring IL-1R antagonist; this drug attaches to the IL-1 receptor and thus prevents binding of IL-1, but unlike IL-1, it does not activate the receptor. Cells expressing cytokine receptors can be targeted by modified versions of the relevant cytokine (eg, denileukin diftitox, which is a fusion protein containing sequences from IL-2 and from diphtheria toxin). Denileukin is used in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma to target the toxin to cells expressing the CD25 component of the IL-2 receptor. 