IL9 not required for allergen response in mice according to research by Dr. Claire Lloyd from Imperial College in London published in a 2002 Journal of Experimental Medicine article that I found while reviewing literature of what is known concerning the effectiveness of IL-9 blockage for treating asthma.
In mice with the IL9 gene knocked out, the same responses to allergens (inflammation, airway hyperreactivity, and IgE levels) were also seen in mice from the same litter with the gene not knocked out. One possible explanation given in the article concerns multiple exposures to allergens and the means these were administered.
The article points to the complexity of the processes that lead to asthma and lessens the likelihood that IL9 antibodies will be as successful as some are hoping
Here is a link to the article; it would be great to hear an assessment of this work by an expert in the field in the context of what is known. Would also be interested in getting GENR's response to this research, since these results differ from their work, as the article clearly notes.
http://www.jem.org/cgi/reprint/195/1/51.pdf
Since this work was published after the initial GENR-MEDI agreement, will this impact the degree of commitment to IL-9 development? The article concludes by questioning the value of designing novel therapeutic strategies targeting single cytokines.
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