Cytokine reviews

The worldwide population aged≥65years is increasing and the average life span is expected to increase another 10years by 2050. This extended lifespan is associated with a progressive decline in immune function and a paradoxical state of low-grade, chronic inflammation that may contribute to susceptibility to viral infection, and reduced responses to vaccination. Here we review the effects of aging on innate immune responses to viral pathogens including elements of recognition, signaling, and production of inflammatory mediators...

In this review, mucosal immune defense mechanisms used to control infections in the bovine genital tract (vestibule, vagina, cervix, uterus and oviduct) during the postpartum period are reviewed. Knowledge gaps are highlighted to emphasize the need for further investigations. Physical barriers to the entry of microbes include vulvar sealing, vestibule-vaginal constriction, a narrow cervical opening and the mucosal epithelium along with the overlying mucus layer. Genital tract mucosal epithelial cells recognize damage-associated molecular patterns and pathogen-associated molecular patterns and respond by secreting antimicrobial peptides and cytokines to recruit and activate immune cells...

Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR-T) are endowed with cytotoxic specificity to tumor cells. Although CAR-T-based cancer immunotherapy presents curable therapeutic potential for hematological malignancies, achieving substantial efficacy for solid tumors remain challenging. Researchers have exploited many strategies to enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of CAR-T cells for solid tumors, among which cytokine-armed CAR-T cells improve the proliferation, survival, homing and other properties of CAR-T cells...

Different anesthesia methods can variably influence excitotoxic lesion effects on the brain. The main purpose of this review is to identify potential differences in the toxicity to nervous system cells of two common inhalation anesthesia methods, isoflurane and sevoflurane, used in combination with an excitotoxic lesion procedure in rodents. The use of bioassays in animal models has provided the opportunity to examine the role of specific molecules and cellular interactions that underlie important aspects of neurotoxic effects relating to calcium homeostasis and apoptosis activation...

Background and objective-Chronic Arsenic (As) exposure continued to be a cause of major problem associated with different kind of diseases including skin problem and different types of cancer. As exposure leads to numerous other pathological conditions that affect millions of people worldwide on a regular basis. It was recently established that As toxicity affects immune system and modulate the function and survival of cells involved in immune regulation. Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) was reported to be an effective apoptosis inducer in a variety of cell types...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a major public health problem in Brazil and worldwide. There are many causes of CKD, being the congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract and the glomerular diseases very common in pediatric patients, while diabetic nephropathy, CKD due to chronic arterial hypertension and glomerular diseases are predominant in adult patients. Many endogenous mediators have been related to the pathophysiology of CKD, being relevant the effects of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the immune-inflammatory mediators including cytokines...

Transplantation of donor-derived allogeneic hematopoietic cells causes increased survival in patients suffering from various blood cancers and other hematologic and immunologic diseases. However, this health benefit is limited to certain patients. One major complication is graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that occurs when donor-derived immune cells recognize host cells/tissues as foreign and perpetrate subsequent destruction. Cytokines are a major class of effector molecules that are involved in GVHD pathogenesis...

Ovarian cancer is one of the most important causes of cancer-related death among women in the world. Despite advances in ovarian cancer treatment, 70-80% of women who initially respond to therapy eventually relapse and die. There is evidence that a small population of cells within the tumors called cancer stem cells (CSCs) could be responsible for treatment failure due to their enhanced chemoresistance and tumorigenicity. These cells reside in a niche that maintains the principal properties of CSCs. These properties are associated with the capacity of CSCs to interact with different cells of the tumor microenvironment including mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts, promoting cancer progression...

The more severe pathology respiratory viral infections produce in asthma sufferers is a result of a dysregulated immune response. Excess type 2 inflammation is a well-described feature of virally induced asthma exacerbations, with growing evidence that production of antiviral interferons may also be impaired. However, the mechanisms underlying these are little understood. This review summarizes the current understanding and recent discoveries of the cellular and molecular events that follow viral infections in asthma...

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by the production of eicosanoids, cytokines, adhesion molecules, infiltration of T and B lymphocytes in the synovium and oxygen reduction accompanied by the cartilage degradation. Eicosanoids are responsible for the progressive destruction of cartilage and bone, however neither steroids, nor the non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cannot slow down cartilage and bone destruction providing only symptomatic improvement. The current rheumatoid arthritis treatment options include mainly the use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, the corticosteroids, the NSAIDs and biological agents...

Prostaglandin (PG) D2 has been in the focus of research for quite a long time, but its biological effects and its roles in human disease are still not fully characterized. When in 2001 a second major PGD2 receptor termed chemoattractant receptor homologue expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2; alternative name DP2) was discovered, diverse investigations started to shed more light on the complex and often controversial actions of the prostaglandin. With various immunomodulating effects, such as induction of migration, activation, and cytokine release of leukocytes observed both in vivo and in vitro, CRTH2 has emerged as a promising target for the treatment of allergic diseases...

Many clinical trials of omega-3 fatty acids, supplied as fish oil supplements, have been carried out in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), lupus nephritis, and osteoarthritis (OA) over the past 3 decades. This review attempts to summarize the highlights of these studies to evaluate the clinical efficacy for omega-3 fatty acids to be added alongside existing treatment regimens. A total of 20 clinical trials have been carried out in RA, of which 16 exhibited significant improvements in multiple disease clinical outcomes...

The immune and skeletal systems share a variety of molecules, including cytokines, chemokines, hormones, receptors, and transcription factors. Bone cells interact with immune cells under physiological and pathological conditions. Osteoimmunology was created as a new interdisciplinary field in large part to highlight the shared molecules and reciprocal interactions between the two systems in both heath and disease. Receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) plays an essential role not only in the development of immune organs and bones, but also in autoimmune diseases affecting bone, thus effectively comprising the molecule that links the two systems...

Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome is a multi-protein platform that recognizes aberrant cytoplasmic dsDNA and induces cytokine maturation, release and pyroptosis. It is composed of AIM2, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and caspase-1. Recent X-ray crystallographic and high resolution cryo-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) studies have revealed a series of structures in AIM2 inflammasome activation and regulation. One prominent feature common in multiple steps is the assembly of high-order structures, especially helical filaments nucleated by upstream molecules, rather than stoichiometric complexes...

Tumor-associated inflammation is predictive of poor prognosis and drives a variety of tumorigenic phenotypes, including tumor proliferation and survival, angiogenesis, invasiveness, and metastasis. Here, we review mammalian data addressing the interaction of macroautophagy/autophagy with key signaling cascades associated with tumor inflammation. Although our understanding of this area remains incomplete, certain inflammatory pathways have emerged as important mediators of the crosstalk between autophagy and inflammation in tumors...

Lung epithelial cells are increasingly recognized to be active effectors of microbial defense, contributing to both innate and adaptive immune function in the lower respiratory tract. As immune sentinels, lung epithelial cells detect diverse pathogens through an ample repertoire of membrane-bound, endosomal, and cytosolic pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). The highly plastic epithelial barrier responds to detected threats via modulation of paracellular flux, intercellular communications, mucin production, and periciliary fluid composition...

Cytokines are known to play important roles in a wide range of pathologic conditions spanning all organ systems in every species studied. As our knowledge of the physiology of individual cytokines expands and our ability to measure multiple cytokines in smaller biological samples increases, we gain more insight into the significance and function of each cytokine and the importance of cytokine networks. Previous studies that reported measurements of cytokine concentrations from serum or plasma in dogs with infectious, autoimmune, metabolic, endocrine, and neoplastic diseases yield an appreciation for the complexity of cytokine control and potential applications for cytokine measurements in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of a variety of disease conditions...

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) represent a diverse family of cells of the innate immune system, which play an important role in regulation of tissue homeostasis, immunity and inflammation. Emerging evidence has highlighted the importance of ILCs in both protective immunity to respiratory infections and their pathological roles in the lungs. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge, interpret and integrate it into broader perspective, enabling greater insight into the role of ILCs in respiratory diseases...

Wound healing is a complex event that develops in three overlapping phases: inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling. These phases are distinct in function and histological characteristics. However, they depend on the interaction of cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, and chemical mediators from cells to perform regulatory events. In this article, we will review the pathway in the skin healing cascade, relating the major chemical inflammatory mediators, cellular and molecular, as well as demonstrating the local and systemic factors that interfere in healing and disorders associated with tissue repair deficiency...

Pathogens deploy immune evasion strategies to successfully establish infections within their hosts. Naturally, the host responds by acquiring mechanisms to counter these strategies. There is increasing evidence that the three interleukin-36 (IL-36) cytokines, IL-36α, IL-36β and IL-36γ, play important roles in host immunity. With a focus on the skin as a target for microbial and viral invasion, the current knowledge of IL-36 functions is reviewed. Furthermore, the hypothesis that the IL-36s have evolved to counteract virulence factors is presented using viruses as an example...