Eg. Trehu et al., POSSIBLE MYOCARDIAL TOXICITY ASSOCIATED WITH INTERLEUKIN-4 THERAPY, Journal of immunotherapy with emphasis on tumor immunology, 14(4), 1993, pp. 348-351
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Immunology,Oncology,"Medicine, Research & Experimental
Interleukin (IL)-4 is a cytokine produced by T lymphocytes, which may
play a role in allergic inflammatory processes through its stimulatory
effects on immunoglobulin E production and mast cells. In this report
, we describe a patient with metastatic melanoma involving the heart w
ho had biopsy-proven myocarditis after treatment with high-dose IL-4.
Because of the uncharacteristic predominance of polymorphonuclear and
mast cells in the inflammatory infiltrate of this patient's myocardium
, we postulate a unique mechanism of IL-4-associated myocarditis. Thre
e other patients treated with IL-4 had less well-defined cardiac abnor
malities, suggesting that patients receiving IL-4 may be at risk for c
ardiac toxicity. Additional studies will be necessary to confirm such
an association.