Adverse Consequences of Immunostimulation

The therapeutic uses of immunostimulatory agents are generally in the treatments of infections or cancer. The traditional example of vaccination is one form of immunostimulation used in the prevention of pathogenic infections or cancer (e.g., human papillomavirus vaccine). Recombinant cytokines are increasingly used to stimulate immune system function. For example, interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) and interleukin (IL)-2 have been used to treat chronic hepatitis C virus infection and metastatic melanoma, respectively. In contrast, monoclonal antibodies are used to target malignant cells for elimination via antibody-dependent cytotoxicity mechanisms or apoptosis, including the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab and the anti-CD56 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab used in the treatment of B-cell malignancies, and the anti-erb2 receptor antibody trastuzumab used in the treatment of breast cancer. Finally, immunostimulation may develop via modulation of pathways involved in immune system regulation. For example, the anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody TGN1412 was developed as an agonist of regulatory T-cells for treatment of T-cell-mediated chronic inflammatory diseases or leukemias. A panel was convened to discuss potential toxicities associated with immunostimulation. At the Immunotoxicology IV meeting in 2006, a panel, moderated by Dr. Robert House (Dynport Vaccine Co., Frederick, MD), included Drs. Gary Burleson (Burleson Research Technologies, Inc., Raleigh, NC), Kenneth Hastings (US FDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research [CDER], Rockville, MD), Barbara Mounho (Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA), Rafael Ponce (ZymoGenetics, Inc., Seattle, WA), Mark Wing (Huntington Life Sciences, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom), Lauren Black (Navigators Consulting, Sparks, NV) and Anne Pilaro (US FDA, CDER, Rockville, MD). This paper reviews the major identified toxicities associated with immunostimulation, including the acute phase response, cell and tissue abnormalities/injury, cytokine release/cytokine storm, tumor lysis syndrome, vascular leak, and autoimmunity that were discussed by this panel.