Targets for the Immune Balance of Biologics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal system and is strongly associated with immunity. IBD is thought to be primarily caused by an imbalance in immunological barriers, typically demonstrated by a disequilibrium of immune cells with either pro-inflammatory or antiinflammatory receptors. Despite the well-established efficacy of biological agents (BAs) in treating IBD, which underscores their remarkable therapeutic potential and elucidates their anti-inflammatory mechanisms, the immunomodulatory effects of BAs, particularly on immune balance such as T helper 1/T helper 2 and T helper 17/regulatory T equilibrium, remain to be fully elucidated. This review will summarize the immune balance mechanism of BAs in order to deepen the understanding of the immune mechanisms of BAs with important clinical significance in reducing the non-responses to BAs in IBD.