BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

IL-20's osteoporosis connection

September 1, 2011 7:00 AM UTC

A group of Taiwanese researchers has shown that an antibody against IL-20 helped treat osteoporosis in mice.1 The findings have grabbed the attention of Novo Nordisk A/S, which has an anti-IL-20 mAb in Phase II testing to treat rheumatoid arthritis and is now considering exploring the bone loss indication.

IL-20, a member of the IL-10 family of proinflammatory cytokines, is expressed in monocytes, epithelial cells and endothelial cells. The team's previous studies showed that IL-20 was upregulated in mouse models of atherosclerosis2 and that an antibody against the cytokine reduced brain infarct size in mouse models of ischemic stroke.3...