Eye on IL-33

A team at the Genentech Inc. unit of Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) has identified a role for interleukin-33 (IL-33; NF-HEV) - a proinflammatory cytokine associated with allergies - in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and shown that a soluble form of the cytokine's receptor can treat the disease in mice.

Endothelial and epithelial cells in the periphery express IL-33, which recruits multiple immune cell types, and is up-regulated in asthma, allergic reactions, respiratory infections and some cancers. Glial cells in the CNS and retina also express the cytokine, but its role in those tissues has not been well understood...