Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies for the Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disorder characterized by a complex chronic inflammatory response that is largely poorly responsive to treatment with corticosteroids. Consequently, there is a huge need to find effective anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of patients with this disease. Inhibition of cytokines and chemokines or their receptors using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) could be a potential strategy to treat the inflammatory component of COPD. In this article, we review the therapeutic potential of some of these mAbs; however, to date there has been little or no therapeutic effect of any mAb directed against cytokines or chemokines in patients with COPD. This may reflect the complexity of COPD in which there is no dominant role for any single cytokine or chemokine. It is also likely that since the umbrella term COPD covers many endotypes having different underlying mechanisms, mAbs directed towards specific cytokines or chemokines should be tested in restricted and focused populations.