%0 Journal Article
%T Evaluating tocilizumab safety and immunomodulatory effects under ocular HTLV-1 infection in vitro.
%A Zhang J
%A Kamoi K
%A Zong Y
%A Yang M
%A Zou Y
%A Ohno-Matsui K
%J Int Immunopharmacol
%V 137
%N 0
%D 2024 Jun 21
%M 38908082
%F 5.714
%R 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112460
%X There is growing interest in evaluating the safety and therapeutic potential of existing treatments such as tocilizumab (TCZ), an IL-6 receptor antagonist used to treat inflammatory diseases. However, there have been reports of increased inflammation in patients with HTLV-1 uveitis after TCZ treatment, and its ocular safety in the HTLV-1 infected state remains unknown. This study focused on assessing the impact of TCZ on HTLV-1-infected ocular cells using an in vitro model in which retinal pigment epithelial cells were cocultured with irradiated HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines. TCZ did not significantly affect cellular viability, inflammatory markers, or HTLV-1 proviral loads at various concentrations (25/50/100 µg/ml), indicating no increased risk of HTLV-1 viral infection and no exacerbation of the inflammatory aspects of HTLV-1 infection in the ocular cells. These promising results support the potential of TCZ as a safe treatment option for HTLV-1-infected patients, particularly those with eye infections.