BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

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

May 19, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse studies suggest inhibiting IL-33 or its receptor IL1RL1 could help treat metastatic cancer. In a mouse model of lung cancer, systemic knockout of IL-33 decreased pulmonary metastasis compared with normal IL-33 expression. In a xenograft mouse model of pancreatic cancer, systemic knockout of IL-33 decreased infiltration of macrophages into tumors and metastasis to the liver and lung. In a mouse model of thyroid cancer, systemic knockout of IL1RL1 or a soluble form of IL1RL1 that inhibits IL-33/IL1RL1 signaling decreased pulmonary metastasis compared with normal IL1RL1 expression. Next steps could include testing inhibitors of IL-33 and IL1RL1 in animal models of metastatic cancer. ...