Cytokine reviews

Alopecia areata (AA), a prevalent inflammatory cause of hair loss, lacks FDA-approved therapeutics for extensive cases, which are associated with very poor rates of spontaneous hair regrowth and major psychological distress. Current treatments for severe cases include broad immune-suppressants, which are associated with significant adverse effects, precluding long-term use, with rapid hair loss following treatment termination. As a result of the extent of the disease in severe cases, topical contact sensitizers and intralesional treatments are of limited use...

PURPOSE: Published data on the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and clinical efficacy and safety of the interleukin-5 antagonist mepolizumab are reviewed. SUMMARY: Asthma of the eosinophilic phenotype is characterized by persistent eosinophilic airway inflammation promoted primarily by T-helper type 2 cytokines, the key regulator of eosinophils. Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma are burdened by the need to administer high doses of corticosteroids to help manage their symptoms...

Bacterial ghosts (BG) are empty cell envelopes derived from Gram-negative bacteria. They contain many innate immunostimulatory agonists, and are potent activators of a broad range of cell types involved in innate and adaptive immunity. Several considerable studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of BG as adjuvants as well as their ability to induce proinflammatory cytokine production by a range of immune and non-immune cell types. These proinflammatory cytokines trigger a generalized recruitment of T and B lymphocytes to lymph nodes that maximize the chances of encounter with their cognate antigen, and subsequent elicitation of potent immune responses...

Hemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses were identified in the late 1950s in South America. These viruses have existed in their hosts, the New World rodents, for millions of years. Their emergence as infectious agents in humans coincided with changes in the environment and farming practices that caused explosions in their host rodent populations. Zoonosis into humans likely occurs because the pathogenic New World arenaviruses use human transferrin receptor 1 to enter cells. The mortality rate after infection with these viruses is high, but the mechanism by which disease is induced is still not clear...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess the risk factors and characteristics of adherent perinephric fat (APF) in healthy individuals. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Men who underwent laparoscopic donor nephrectomy were included. Video review was used to divide patients on the basis of APF severity. Relationship between APF scores and clinical and radiographic features was evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 92 patients, 43 (46.7%) and 8 (8.7%) were categorized as APF and severe APF, respectively...

BACKGROUND: The impact of the intestinal microbiome is increasing steadily with regard to the immune function und the defense against pathogens. The medicinal yeast Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 (S. boulardii) has been used as probiotic for the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea since more than 50 years. Meta-analyses confirm the clinical efficacy of S. boulardii to treat diarrhea of various origins in children and adults. METHOD: This review article summarizes experimental studies on molecular and immunological mechanisms which explain the proven clinical efficacy of S...

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is associated with a high risk of treatment-related mortality mainly caused by infections and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is characterized by severe immune dysregulation and impaired regeneration of different tissues, i.e., epithelial barriers and the liver. The balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine influences the risk of GVHD. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that previously has been associated with pro-inflammatory effects. However, more recent evidence from various autoimmune diseases (e...

The human intestinal mucosal surface represents the first defense against pathogens and regulates the immune response through the combination of epithelial cell (EC) functions and immunological factors. ECs act as sensors of luminal stimuli and interact with the immune cells through signal-transduction pathways, thus representing the first barrier that HIV-1 virus encounters during infection. In particular, the HIV-1 Nef protein plays a crucial role in viral invasion and replication. Nef is expressed early during viral infection and interacts with numerous cellular proteins as a scaffold/adaptor...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive disorder characterized neuropathologically by loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, intracellular proteinaceous inclusions, reduction of dopaminergic terminals in the striatum, and increased neuroinflammatory cells. The consequent reduction of dopamine in the basal ganglia results in the classical parkinsonian motor phenotype. A growing body of evidence suggest that neuroinflammation mediated by microglia, the resident macrophage-like immune cells in the brain, play a contributory role in PD pathogenesis...

Immune control is associated with nigrostriatal neuroprotection for Parkinson's disease (PD); though its direct cause and effect relationships have not yet been realized and modulating the immune system for therapeutic gain has been openly discussed. While the pathobiology of PD remains in study, neuroinflammation is thought to speed nigrostriatal degeneration. The neuroinflammatory cascade associated with PD begins with aggregation of misfolded or post-translationally modified α-synuclein (α-syn). Such aggregation results in neuronal cell death and the presence of chronically activated glia (microglia and astroglia), leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, and enzymes such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most important primary that is associated with clinical complications including recurrent infections, malignancy and autoimmune diseases. The genetic cause of CVID is mostly unknown and only a few genetic causes are identified. The various options are proposed for determining the etiology of CVID patients, such as T- and B-cell defects, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) impairments, altered cytokine production as well as blemished dendritic cells (DCs)...

Alcoholic liver diseases and virus-induced hepatic dysfunctions are prevalent in western countries. Evidence also suggests that hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are key players in the development of hepatic diseases and their complications. Since the comorbid diseases like obesity, diabetes and vascular dysfunctions primarily affect liver, the modern therapies against other hepatic dysfunctions are becoming a major challenge to treat. In addition to these, polypharmacy and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are further aggravating the phenomenon...

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a small but very biologically active ectopic fat depot that surrounds the heart. Given its rapid metabolism, thermogenic capacity, unique transcriptome, secretory profile, and simply measurability, epicardial fat has drawn increasing attention among researchers attempting to elucidate its putative role in health and cardiovascular diseases. The cellular crosstalk between epicardial adipocytes and cells of the vascular wall or myocytes is high and suggests a local role for this tissue...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: It is widely accepted that sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are implicated in weight gain and adverse cardiometabolic heath. To make informed recommendations about SSB, new evidence needs to be considered against existing literature. The present review will provide an update on the epidemiological and trial evidence linking intake of SSB to cardiometabolic outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: The weight of the evidence from prospective cohort studies supports a strong positive association between intake of SSB and weight gain and risk type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary heart disease (CHD) that is independent of adiposity...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review provides an appraisal of recent evidence for or against selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases, and discusses possible effect mechanisms. RECENT FINDINGS: Epidemiological data suggest an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid diseases under conditions of low dietary selenium intake. Two systematic reviews have evaluated controlled trials among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and report that selenium supplementation decreases circulating thyroid autoantibodies...

Immunotolerance is one of the hallmarks of malignant tumors. Tumor cells escape from host immune surveillance through various mechanisms resulting in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Interlukin-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in many physiological and pathological processes by integrating with multiple intracellular signaling pathways. Aberrant expression of interlukin-6 is associated with the growth, metastasis, and chemotherapeutic resistance in a wide range of cancers. Interlukin-6 exerts immunosuppressive capacity mostly by stimulating the infiltrations of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumor-associated neutrophils, and cancer stem-like cells via Janus-activated kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway in tumor microenvironment...

Numerous experimental and clinical studies indicate that chronic inflammation is closely related to the initiation, progression, and spread of cancer, in which proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and transcription factors, such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), play pivotal roles. Stimulated by proinflammatory cytokines, NF-κB and STAT3 can modulate the expression of target genes, most of which are oncogenic ones, and promote the survival, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells...

Ionizing radiation can affect the immune system in many ways. Depending on the situation, the whole body or parts of the body can be acutely or chronically exposed to different radiation qualities. In tumor radiotherapy, a fractionated exposure of the tumor (and surrounding tissues) is applied to kill the tumor cells. Currently, mostly photons, and also electrons, neutrons, protons, and heavier particles such as carbon ions, are used in radiotherapy. Tumor elimination can be supported by an effective immune response...

The Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway plays critical roles in orchestrating of immune system, especially cytokine receptors and they can modulate the polarization of T helper cells. This pathway is regulated by an array of regulator proteins, including Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS), Protein Inhibitors of Activated STATs (PIAS) and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases (PTPs) determining the initiation, duration and termination of the signaling cascades. Dysregulation of the JAK-STAT pathway in T helper cells may result in various immune disorders...

Lung malignancy is the foremost cause of cancer-related deaths globally and is frequently related to long-term tobacco smoking. Recent studies reveal that the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is extremely high in lung tumors compared to non-malignant lung tissue. MMPs are zinc-dependent proteases and are involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM). Several investigations have shown that MMPs manipulate the activity of non-ECM molecules, including cytokines, growth factors and receptors which control the tumor microenvironment...