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Interleukin‐1 and interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist in inflammatory bowel disease.
Author(s) -
Cominelli F,
Pizarro TT
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.1996.22164020.x
Subject(s) - ulcerative colitis , immunology , medicine , inflammatory bowel disease , proinflammatory cytokine , pathogenesis , inflammation , interleukin 1 receptor antagonist , interleukin , disease , crohn's disease , genetic predisposition , receptor antagonist , cytokine , receptor , antagonist
Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are immunologically mediated disorders characterized by a chronic, relapsing inflammatory response. Elevation of several cytokines, with important immunoregulatory and proinflammatory activities have been demonstrated during active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These cytokines, including interleukin‐1 (IL‐1), IL‐6, IL‐8 and GM‐CSF, may play an important role in the initiation and amplification of the inflammatory response leading to intestinal injury. There is increasing evidence that IL‐1 is activated early in the cascade of events leading to inflammation. Therefore, IL‐1 has been implicated as a primary target for therapeutic intervention for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases, including IBD. In addition, a mucosal imbalance of intestinal IL‐1 and IL‐1ra is present in patients with IBD, suggesting that insufficient production of endogenous IL‐1ra may contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic gut inflammation. Preliminary studies examining the association between newly described polymorphisms in the IL‐1 gene cluster and IBD have provided new insight into the genetic predisposition to UC. This article will review current progress in understanding the role of Il‐1 and Il‐1ra in IBD, as well as discuss recently described polymorphisms in the Il‐1 gene cluster and their association with UC and CD.