Immunomodulation of Crohn's Disease.

Crohn’s disease is characterized by a relapsing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Current standard treatment consists mainly of application of anti-inflammatory drugs, in particular corticosteroids. Although still the mainstay of therapy, the mode of action of corticosteroids is incompletely understood, side-effects are a common problem, and the therapy does not modify the natural course of disease. Knowledge of the immunopathogenesis of Crohn’s disease has increased in recent years, and substantial evidence indicates an important role for uncontrolled T lymphocyte activation. Subsequently, new targets for therapy have been identified, including antibodies against the proinflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10), either delivered as a recombinant cytokine or as the gene encoding for IL-10, and are now intensively studied.