IL-18 is a proinflammatory cytokine belonging to the "IL-1 family" that has been shown to play a prominent role in the induction of type 1 immune responses. Here, we show that M-CSF induces the expression of a membrane-bound form of IL-18 (mIL-18) in a subset of human blood monocytes differentiating toward macrophages. While monocytes, DC, and GM-CSF-treated monocytes did not express mIL-18, its expression was detected in ap-
IntroductionMacrophages produce IL-1 (IL-1α and IL-1β) and IL-18, proinflammatory cytokines that have been generally assigned to a larger Correspondence: Dr. Cristina Bottino e-mail: Cristina.Bottino@unige.it group of cytokines termed "IL-1 family" since they present related receptor structures and utilize similar signal transduction * These authors contributed equally to this study.C 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.eji-journal.eu Eur. J. Immunol. 2012. 42: 1618-1626 Innate immunity 1619 pathways [1,2]. IL-1α is synthesized as pro-IL-1α, a biologically active precursor that is constitutively present in cells and can be cleaved into a mature cytokine by calpain, a membrane-bound cysteine protease. IL-1α is not readily secreted by cells and remains either bound to plasma membrane [3] or inside the cells where it acts as an autocrine growth factor. IL-1β, the prototype of primary proinflammatory cytokines is not present in cells under steady state conditions. Its production is highly regulated and requires a first signal-inducing de novo transcription of the gene and accumulation of the inactive precursor cytokine (pro-IL-1β) and a second signal-driving inflammasome assembly [4] and activation of caspase-1 (also known as IL-1β-converting enzyme, ICE), which converts pro-IL-1β into the IL-1β bioactive mature cytokine. These signals are provided by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that act through specific receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), cytokines such as IL-33, IL-1β itself, and IL-1α, which is released passively upon cell injury, danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such as urate crystals or pathogenic dusts and extracellular ATP, which after binding to P2 receptors (P2R) induces a rapid exit of potassium from the cell. Interestingly, also a caspase-1 independent type of IL-1β activation has been described. Thus, in different models of sterile inflammation, macrophages and monocytes would be able to release pro-IL-1β that is cleaved by proteinase-3 produced by neutrophils [1,5]. IL-18 originally identified as an IFN-γ-inducing factor (IGIF), has been shown to play a prominent role in the induction of type 1 immune responses [1,6,7]. Although belonging to the same cytokine family, IL-18 and IL-1β display both similarities and important differences [1,2]. Similar to IL-1β, IL-18 is synthesized as a biologically inactive precursor peptide (pro-IL-18) that is subsequently cleaved by caspase-1. Unlike IL-1β, however, PAMPs such as LPS while inducing IL-18 release have little impact on IL-18 gene transcription [2].Monocytes are a considerable r...