Tocilizumab

Tocilizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks interleukin-6 receptors. It is used to treat several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Interleukin-6 receptor: A cell-surface and soluble receptor that binds interleukin-6 and initiates signaling. Tocilizumab binds this receptor, preventing interleukin-6 from activating its signaling pathways.
Rheumatoid arthritis: A chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of joints and can damage other organs. Tocilizumab is used when rheumatoid arthritis remains active despite other treatments.
Antibody: An immune-system protein that binds specific molecular targets and can help neutralize or mark them. Tocilizumab uses antibody recognition to bind interleukin-6 receptors selectively.
Sarilumab: A human monoclonal antibody that blocks the interleukin-6 receptor. It targets the same receptor as tocilizumab but is a distinct antibody medicine.
Serious infection: An infection severe enough to require hospitalization, intravenous treatment, or posing a substantial threat to health. Suppressing interleukin-6 signaling can increase susceptibility to serious infections.
Interleukin-6: A cytokine involved in immune regulation, inflammation, and blood-cell production. Blocking its receptor interrupts the inflammatory signals driven by this cytokine.
Giant cell arteritis: An inflammatory disease of medium and large arteries, often affecting the head and threatening vision. Tocilizumab can control this disease and reduce reliance on glucocorticoids.
Humanization: The engineering of a nonhuman antibody to reduce its foreign components while retaining target binding. Tocilizumab was humanized to make a mouse-derived binding region more suitable for human treatment.
Siltuximab: A monoclonal antibody that binds interleukin-6 rather than its receptor. It neutralizes the cytokine directly, unlike tocilizumab’s receptor blockade.
Neutropenia: An abnormally low concentration of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps fight infection. Neutrophil counts can fall during tocilizumab treatment and require clinical monitoring.

Linked from 9 pages