Review

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 4, 59-69 (January 2005) | doi:10.1038/nrd1605

Genetic aspects of immune-mediated adverse drug effects

Peter J. Bugelski1  About the author

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Adverse drug effects (ADEs) are of great importance in medicine and account for up to 5% of all hospital admissions. ADEs can arise from several mechanisms and a wide range of drugs can cause immune-mediated ADEs (IMADEs). For a drug to elicit an IMADE, it must be both immunogenic (that is, able to sensitize the immune system) and antigenic (that is, able to evoke a response from a sensitized immune system). Unlike protein therapeutics, small-molecule drugs (or xenobiotics) are usually neither immunogenic nor antigenic. IMADEs are therefore the result of complex interactions between drug-metabolizing enzymes, immune sensitization and immune effectors. The genetic aspects of this interplay are discussed in this review.

Author affiliations

  1. Director of Experimental Pathology, Department of Toxicology and Investigational Pharmacology, Centocor Inc., 200 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355, USA.
    Email: pbugelsk@cntus.jnj.com

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