BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Targeting interleukins in Alzheimer's disease

December 20, 2012 8:00 AM UTC

Researchers at Charité-University Hospital Berlin and the University of Zurich have data showing that p40, a protein subunit shared by IL-12 and IL-23, could be a new therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease.1 The group now is trying to better understand the downstream mediators of the pathway and wants to find an industry partner to test late-stage or marketed p40-targeting therapies, such as Johnson & Johnson's psoriasis drug Stelara ustekinumab.

p40 is produced by microglia and is a protein subunit shared by IL-12 and IL-23. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the CNS, and aberrant phenotypes are linked to multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD).2 These CNS cells accumulate around b-amyloid (Ab) plaques and are known to be a major source of proinflammatory cytokines,3 although their precise role in AD pathogenesis and progression is unclear.4...