title: The IL-17 cytokine family.
abstract: IL-17A and its receptor are the founding members of a recently described cytokine family, with unique sequences and functions in the immune system and elsewhere. Consisting of six ligands (IL-17A-F) and five receptors (IL-17RA-IL-17RE) in mammals, these molecules have distinct primary amino acid structures with only minimal homology to other cytokine families. By far the best studied of these cytokines to date are IL-17A and its receptor, IL-17RA. IL-17A is produced primarily by T cells, and is the hallmark cytokine of a newly defined T helper cell subset that appears to be involved in generation of autoimmunity. Despite its production by the adaptive immune system, IL-17A exhibits proinflammatory activities similar to innate immune cytokines such as IL-1beta and TNF-alpha and appears to play important and nonredundant roles in regulating granulocytes in vivo. As a result, IL-17A also plays key roles in host defense. In contrast to the restricted expression of IL-17A, the IL-17RA receptor is ubiquitously expressed, and thus most cells are potential physiological targets of IL-17A. This chapter describes the major molecular properties, biological activities, and known signaling pathways of the IL-17 family, with an emphasis on IL-17A and IL-17RA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York 14214, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gaffen
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D053722:Receptors, Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: C109985:IL17RA protein, human; D020381:Interleukin-17; D053722:Receptors, Interleukin-17