Therapeutics: Interleukin-10 (IL-10)
Cell culture and mouse studies suggest IL-10 could help treat ALS. Primary mouse glial cells from a presymptomatic mouse model of ALS had lower levels of IL-10 than cells from normal mice. In primary microglial cells from the mouse model, IL-10 increased levels of anti-inflammatory markers compared with vehicle. Also in the model, viral vector-mediated overexpression of IL-10 in the spinal canal before symptom onset delayed disease onset, decreased weight loss and increased survival compared with empty vector. Next steps could include testing IL-10 overexpression in other age-related neurological diseases.
Merck & Co. Inc. and Armo BioSciences Inc. have AM0010, a pegylated form of IL-10, in Phase I testing to treat hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. ...