Oncostatin M as a new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic target in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Given the high rate of primary and acquired resistance to current inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatments, novel drug targets and biomarkers that aid in therapeutic prediction are eagerly awaited. Furthermore, postponing treatment initiation because of a diagnostic delay profoundly affects patient well-being and overall disease evolution. Among the emerging targets and biomarkers, oncostatin M (OSM) has gained much interest in the past few years.

Areas covered: A literature search to June 2019 was performed to identify the most relevant reports on Oncostatin M. The authors summarize the biology of OSM, its role in health and disease, its potential as a diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic biomarker in the field of IBD and how it might be a drug target of the future.

Expert opinion: OSM has diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic capabilities. High mucosal OSM predicts primary non-response to anti-TNF antibodies. However, one could question whether a single cytokine can capture the complexity and heterogeneity of IBD. Neutralizing OSM in patients with elevated mucosal OSM appears to be attractive and should be considered as a valid option for the first biomarker-stratified, proof-of-concept trial that studies a novel therapeutic compound in IBD.

KEYWORDS:

• Oncostatin M
• biomarker
• prognostic
• diagnostic
• therapeutic
• IBD

Article Highlights

• The oncostatin M axis is involved in several homeostatic and pathological processes, including inflammatory bowel disease and fibrogenesis.

• Increased serum OSM levels have been reported in IBD patients as well as in the early post-operative setting of recurrent Crohn’s disease (CD).

• Increased OSM levels are detected in unaffected first-degree relatives of IBD patients and may contribute to the search of diagnostic markers.

• At the mucosal level, higher colonic OSM levels are observed in IBD patients, and in a more refractory subset of patients requiring biological therapy within the first year after diagnosis, or in case of anti-TNF and/or vedolizumab non-response.

• Neutralising OSM antibodies are currently being developed, and should be considered as a novel mode-of-action in the context of inflammatory bowel disease.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

B Verstockt received financial support for research from Pfizer, lecture fees from Abbvie, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, R-biopharm and Takeda, consultancy fees from Janssen and Sandoz. S Vermeire received financial support for research from MSD, Abbvie, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer; honoraria or consultation fees from AbbVie, MSD, Takeda, Ferring, Genentech/Roche, Shire, Pfizer Inc, Galapagos, Mundipharma, Hospira, Celgene, Second Genome, Progenity, GSK, Lilly, Arena, Gilead and Janssen; participated in company sponsored speaker’s bureau from AbbVie, MSD, Takeda, Ferring, Hospira, Pfizer, Janssen, and Tillots.

The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.