title: The interleukin-1 system: an attractive and viable therapeutic target in neurodegenerative disease.
abstract: Inflammatory processes in the brain have been implicated in both acute and chronic neurodegenerative disease. One of the most studied inflammatory mediators in this respect is the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1), which has diverse actions in the central nervous system and mediates a wide variety of effects, including the host defense responses to local and systemic disease and injury. Both pre-clinical and clinical data suggest a role for IL-1 as a key mediator of cell death in acute neurodegenerative conditions, such as stroke and head injury. IL-1 has also been implicated in a number of chronic diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, as well as in epilepsy. Constitutive expression of IL-1 is very low in normal brain, but is up-regulated rapidly in response to local or peripheral insults. The mechanisms regulating the expression IL-1 are not well defined, but appear to involve multiple effects on neuronal, glial and endothelial cell function. Therefore, the IL-1 system represents an attractive and intensely competitive therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: School Of Biological Sciences, University Of Manchester, 1.124 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK. stuart.allan@man.ac.uk
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pinteaux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1