The IL-1 family: regulators of immunity

Abstract

Over recent years it has become increasingly clear that innate immune responses can shape the adaptive immune response. Among the most potent molecules of the innate immune system are the interleukin-1 (IL-1) family members. These evolutionarily ancient cytokines are made by and act on innate immune cells to influence their survival and function. In addition, they act directly on lymphocytes to reinforce certain adaptive immune responses. This Review provides an overview of both the long-established and more recently characterized members of the IL-1 family. In addition to their effects on immune cells, their involvement in human disease and disease models is discussed.

Aldara activates TLR7-independent immune defence

“…We next investigated whether other members of the IL-1 family such as IL-1b and IL-18 (ref. 37) are produced upon treatment with Aldara. It was shown that IMQ activates the inflammasome in murine peritoneal macrophages, 38 but such evidence is lacking for keratinocytes.…”

IL‐33‐activated dendritic cells are critical for allergic airway inflammation

“…IL-33 is a member of IL-1 family [9][10][11]. Like IL-1b or IL-18, IL-33 is synthesized as a precursor and can be cleaved by caspase-1 and 3 but the cleavage products are biologically less active than the precursor [12,13].…”

“…Th2 cells have been shown to play a predominant role in allergic asthma and Th2 cytokines, such as IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13, exacerbate disease severity [3,4]. IL-33, the recently discovered Th2 cytokine, is found at high levels in the plasma of asthmatic patients [5,6] and in the lungs of mice during experimental allergic asthma [7,8].IL-33 is a member of IL-1 family [9][10][11]. Like IL-1b or IL-18, IL-33 is synthesized as a precursor and can be cleaved by caspase-1 and 3 but the cleavage products are biologically less active than the precursor [12,13].…”

IL‐1β inhibits ILC3 while favoring NK‐cell maturation of umbilical cord blood CD34+ precursors

“…The IL-1 cytokine family plays a key role in the regulation of inflammation and immunity [44,45]. It has been reported that IL-1β may promote the expansion of memory T cells and upregulate antigen-specific effector T-cell functions [46,47].…”

“…This effect was detectable when IL-1β was added at the beginning of the culture, thus indicating an early effect on CD34 + cell differentiation. In line with this hypothesis, molecular analysis indicated that in the presence of IL-1β, an increase of ID2 and E4BP4 mRNA relative expression could be observed in cell precursors as early as 4 days of cultures.The IL-1 cytokine family plays a key role in the regulation of inflammation and immunity [44,45]. It has been reported that IL-1β may promote the expansion of memory T cells and upregulate antigen-specific effector T-cell functions [46,47].…”