课程文献中心 更多>>

关键词： low-dose IL-2   amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)   Treg cells   biomarker   immunomodulation  

摘要： Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a life-threatening neurodegenerative disease caused by motor neuron loss. In a recent Phase 2b trial, Bensimon and colleagues report that the addition of low-dose interleukin 2 (LD-IL-2) immunotherapy to standard of care (SOC) shows promise in enhancing immune tolerance and improving survival in individuals with slower disease progression.

关键词： cytokines   inflammation   inhibitory receptors   innate immunity  

摘要： IL-1 family members and their signaling receptors are key drivers of inflammation in sterile or infectious conditions, as well as polarization of the innate and adaptive immunity. Deregulated or excessive activation of the IL-1 system is associated with detrimental inflammatory reactions. Beside signaling receptors, IL-1-family receptors comprise decoy or negative regulatory receptors, which regulate cell activation mediated by IL-1 family ligands. IL-1-family negative regulatory receptors, which include IL-1R8 and IL-1R2, have peculiar structural features and functions essential to the self-regulation of the IL-1 system. IL-1R8 and IL-1R2 emerge as regulatory molecules whose function is context-dependent, spanning from negative regulation of inflammation in infections or conditions of sterile inflammation and cell damage, including cancer-related inflammation, to skewing of myeloid and lymphoid cells, modulation of anti-tumor immunity, and immune checkpoint activity. This review reports new insights into the physio-pathological roles of these two negative regulatory IL-1 family members, emphasizing their mechanisms of action and potential for innovative therapeutic interventions.

关键词： Th9   IL-9   Rheumatoid arthritis  

摘要： Early studies on T helper (Th) 9 cells and their specific cytokine IL-9 mainly focused on the field of allergic diseases. In addition to pathological studies, IL-9 can also affect the normal development and various functions of T cells and B cells. In recent years, a series of studies have found that IL-9 may play a pathogenic role in a range of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, Th9 cells and IL-9 show abnormally high expression in peripheral blood, synovial fluid, and synovial tissue of patients with RA. Based on this, therapeutic strategies targeting IL-9, such as monoclonal antibodies, have become potential treatments for RA. However, research on Th9 and IL-9 in RA has only been conducted for less than two decades, and many issues are worth further exploration. This article reviews the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenic effects of Th9 and IL-9 in RA, summarizes the potential reasons for inducing abnormally high expression of Th9 and IL-9 in RA, and discusses future research directions. The existing evidence shows that Th9-derived IL-9 is a potential biomarker or therapeutic target in RA. We hope that this current review can play a bridging role and provide new ideas for the study of Th9 and IL-9 in RA.

关键词： cytokine   hepatocellular carcinoma   immune checkpoint   biomarker  

摘要： Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is predominantly diagnosed at advanced stages due to a lack of reliable biomarkers for early detection. Consequently, identifying predictive biomarkers for HCC development in patients with chronic liver diseases holds significant potential for improving early diagnosis and clinical outcomes of this aggressive malignancy. Serum levels of immune checkpoint proteins and cytokines were quantified by ELISA in patients with chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, and HCC, with healthy subjects serving as controls. Cytokine profiles were compared between patients with HCC and without HCC using one-way ANOVA and multivariate logistic regression. The diagnostic performance of interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-22, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The serum levels of programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death-ligand 1 progressively increased with advancing stages of liver disease. IFN-gamma emerged as a protective factor against HCC [odds ratio (OR)=0.991;95% CI, 0.984-0.997], while IL-22 was identified as a risk factor (OR=1.020, 95% CI, 1.004-1.036). The combined evaluation of IFN-gamma and IL-22 demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy [area under the curve (AUC)=0.863;95% CI, 0.755-0.971] compared with AFP alone (AUC=0.644;95% CI, 0.483-0.804). The combination of IFN-gamma and IL-22 exhibited enhanced diagnostic performance compared with AFP alone in predicting and detecting early-stage HCC, suggesting its potential utility as a novel biomarker panel for HCC screening.