Therapeutics: Interleukin-33 (IL-33; NF-HEV); interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 (IL1RL1; ST2)

Patient sample and mouse studies suggest IL-33 inhibitors could help treat AMD. Retinal levels of IL-33 were higher in postmortem eyes from patients with advanced AMD than in eyes from unaffected, age-matched controls. In a mouse model of AMD, subretinal injection of viral vector-encoded soluble IL1RL1 - the IL-33 receptor - increased the number of rod and cone cells in the retina compared with empty vector. In another mouse model of AMD, IL1RL1 knockout increased the number of rods and cones in the retina and increased retinal thickness in the eye compared with normal IL1RL1 expression. Next steps include testing IL-33 inhibition in other retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy. ...