Interleukin-18 in pulmonary inflammatory diseases.
The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-18 was originally discovered as an interferon-γ-inducing factor in 1995. IL-18 is known to play an important role in Th1/Tc1 polarization and promoting the production of Th2 cytokines (e.g., IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13) by T cells, NK cells, basophils, and mast cells. IL-18 can act as a cofactor for Th2 cell development and IgE production, and also plays an important role in the differentiation of Th17 cells. IL-18 is a key player in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, adult-onset Still's disease, Sjögren's syndrome, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Furthermore, many lines of evidence suggest that IL-18 plays a key role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary inflammatory diseases, including bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Here, we review the pathological roles of IL-18 in pulmonary inflammatory diseases.
Division of Respirology, Neurology, and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine 1, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.
Tomotaka
T
Kawayama
Masaki
M
Okamoto
Haruki
H
Imaoka
Seiya
S
Kato
Howard A
HA
Young
Tomoaki
T
Hoshino
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000276:immunology*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000276:immunology*; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
D020382:Interleukin-18; D007371:Interferon-gamma