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Anti‐tumor necrosis factor‐α therapies for immune‐mediated and inflammatory skin diseases
Author(s) -
Dessinioti Clio,
Stratigos Alexander J.,
Katsambas Andreas,
Antoniou Christina
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
drug development research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1098-2299
pISSN - 0272-4391
DOI - 10.1002/ddr.20471
Subject(s) - medicine , etanercept , adalimumab , infliximab , psoriasis , tumor necrosis factor alpha , immunology , monoclonal antibody , context (archaeology) , immune system , pyoderma gangrenosum , hidradenitis suppurativa , dermatology , efalizumab , antibody , paleontology , disease , biology
Anti‐tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) therapies, also called biologic therapies or immunotherapies, are being used increasingly in dermatology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology in the context of established and emerging indications. Anti‐TNF agents target TNF‐α and include infliximab (a chimeric IgG1 monoclonal antibody), adalimumab (a fully human recombinant IgG1 monoclonal antibody), and etanercept (a dimeric fusion protein of TNFR1 linked to the Fc portion of IgG1). Among skin diseases, only plaque psoriasis represents an approved indication for the use of anti‐TNF‐α agents; however, anti‐TNF therapies have been used as off‐label treatments in a plethora of immune‐mediated or inflammatory cutaneous disorders, such as hidradenitis suppurativa, alopecia areata, pyoderma gangrenosum, and pemphigus vulgaris. In this short review we present accumulating evidence regarding the dual effect of these therapies in inflammatory skin diseases, either resulting in improvement or acting as a paradoxical trigger for their development. The proposed mechanism of action of anti‐TNF treatments on pathogenic key points of these skin conditions is also discussed. Drug Dev Res 72:615–622, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.