Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is the most common hereditary autoinflammatory disease, characterized by recurrent fever, arthritis, rash, and serositis, and is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene coding for the pyrin protein. The primary treatment goal is to prevent acute attacks and minimize s...

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Main Authors: Tomohiro Koga, Shuntaro Sato, Kaori Furukawa, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Atsushi Kawakami
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-01-01
Series:Immunological Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25785826.2024.2418164
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author Tomohiro Koga
Shuntaro Sato
Kaori Furukawa
Hiroshi Yamamoto
Atsushi Kawakami
author_facet Tomohiro Koga
Shuntaro Sato
Kaori Furukawa
Hiroshi Yamamoto
Atsushi Kawakami
author_sort Tomohiro Koga
collection DOAJ
description Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is the most common hereditary autoinflammatory disease, characterized by recurrent fever, arthritis, rash, and serositis, and is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene coding for the pyrin protein. The primary treatment goal is to prevent acute attacks and minimize subclinical inflammation to avoid secondary amyloidosis with colchicine as the first-line treatment. However, 10-20% of patients are colchicine-resistant or intolerant. While the therapeutic potential of IL-6 inhibitors such as tocilizumab (TCZ) has been suggested, the detailed serum cytokine profiles after TCZ treatment in patients with FMF remain largely unexplored. This study focused on a sub-analysis of a clinical trial evaluating TCZ in patients with colchicine-resistant FMF (crFMF). We analyzed the serum cytokine profiles at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks in the TCZ and placebo groups. Our findings revealed a decrease in serum C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the TCZ group at week 4 compared to baseline, which persisted until week 24, indicating the potential of TCZ to manage crFMF by modulating specific inflammatory cytokines. Further research is required to confirm these findings and optimize the treatment strategies for FMF.
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spelling doaj-art-6f939590d1294876a63b2ab658138fea2025-08-20T03:21:31ZengTaylor & Francis GroupImmunological Medicine2578-58262025-01-01481707710.1080/25785826.2024.2418164Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF studyTomohiro Koga0Shuntaro Sato1Kaori Furukawa2Hiroshi Yamamoto3Atsushi Kawakami4Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Division of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, JapanClinical Research Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, JapanDepartment of Immunology and Rheumatology, Division of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, JapanClinical Research Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, JapanDepartment of Immunology and Rheumatology, Division of Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, JapanFamilial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is the most common hereditary autoinflammatory disease, characterized by recurrent fever, arthritis, rash, and serositis, and is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene coding for the pyrin protein. The primary treatment goal is to prevent acute attacks and minimize subclinical inflammation to avoid secondary amyloidosis with colchicine as the first-line treatment. However, 10-20% of patients are colchicine-resistant or intolerant. While the therapeutic potential of IL-6 inhibitors such as tocilizumab (TCZ) has been suggested, the detailed serum cytokine profiles after TCZ treatment in patients with FMF remain largely unexplored. This study focused on a sub-analysis of a clinical trial evaluating TCZ in patients with colchicine-resistant FMF (crFMF). We analyzed the serum cytokine profiles at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks in the TCZ and placebo groups. Our findings revealed a decrease in serum C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the TCZ group at week 4 compared to baseline, which persisted until week 24, indicating the potential of TCZ to manage crFMF by modulating specific inflammatory cytokines. Further research is required to confirm these findings and optimize the treatment strategies for FMF.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25785826.2024.2418164Familial Mediterranean fevercolchicine-resistanttocilizumabCXCL1VEGF
spellingShingle Tomohiro Koga
Shuntaro Sato
Kaori Furukawa
Hiroshi Yamamoto
Atsushi Kawakami
Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
Immunological Medicine
Familial Mediterranean fever
colchicine-resistant
tocilizumab
CXCL1
VEGF
title Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
title_full Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
title_fullStr Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
title_short Investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in Japanese FMF patients: a sub-analysis of the NUH01FMF study
title_sort investigating the impact of tocilizumab on serum cytokines concentrations in japanese fmf patients a sub analysis of the nuh01fmf study
topic Familial Mediterranean fever
colchicine-resistant
tocilizumab
CXCL1
VEGF
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25785826.2024.2418164
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