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Cytokine amplification and inhibition of immune and inflammatory responses
Author(s) -
Balkwill F.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of viral hepatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1365-2893
pISSN - 1352-0504
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2893.1997.tb00175.x
Subject(s) - cytokine , immune system , biology , suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 , inflammation , immunology , cytokine receptor , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , socs2 , suppressor of cytokine signalling , haematopoiesis , signal transduction , socs3 , stem cell , genetics , gene , suppressor , stat3
Summary. Cytokines are soluble mediators of intercellular communication. They contribute to a chemical signalling language that regulates development, tissue repair, haematopoiesis, inflammation and the immune response. Potent cytokine polypeptides have pleiotropic activities and functional redundancy. They act in a complex network where one cytokine can influence the production of, and response to, many other cytokines. In the past 5 years this bewildering array of 100+ effector molecules and associated cell surface receptors has been simplified by study of three‐dimensional cytokine and cytokine receptor structure; elucidation of convergent intracellular signalling pathways; and molecular genetics, especially targeted gene disruption to ‘knockout’ production of individual cytokines in mice. It is also now clear that much of the pathophysiology of infectious disease can be explained by the induction of cytokines and the subsequent cellular response. Cytokine and cytokine antagonists have also shown therapeutic potential in a number of chronic and acute diseases.