Biet Franck, Locht Camille, Kremer Laurent
Laboratoire de Microbiologie Génétique et Moléculaire, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U447, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 rue du Professeur Calmette, 59021 Lille, France.
J Mol Med (Berl). 2002 Mar;80(3):147-62. doi: 10.1007/s00109-001-0307-1. Epub 2001 Dec 8.
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a proinflammatory cytokine that belongs to the IL-1 cytokine family, due to its structure, receptor family and signal transduction pathways. Similarly to IL-1beta, IL-18 is synthesized as a precursor requiring caspase-1 for cleavage into an active IL-18 molecule. However, with regard to its capacity to induce the production of Th1 cytokines and to enhance cell-mediated cytotoxicity, IL-18 is also related to IL-12. Produced mainly by antigen-presenting cells, IL-18 is a pleiotropic factor involved in the regulation of both innate and acquired immune responses, playing a key role in autoimmune, inflammatory, and infectious diseases. This review summarizes recent advances in the understanding of IL-18 structure, processing, receptor expression, and immunoregulatory functions and emphasizes the critical role of this cytokine in bacterial infections. It focuses on the participation of this cytokine in the defense against intracellular bacteria, including Listeria, Shigella, Salmonella, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Since this cytokine may be particularly useful in immunoprophylactic and immunotherapeutic interventions in which the cellular response is most desirable, the potential therapeutic aspects of IL-18 is also discussed.
白细胞介素-18（IL-18）是一种促炎细胞因子，因其结构、受体家族和信号转导途径而属于IL-1细胞因子家族。与IL-1β类似，IL-18以前体形式合成，需要半胱天冬酶-1将其切割成活性IL-18分子。然而，就其诱导Th1细胞因子产生和增强细胞介导的细胞毒性的能力而言，IL-18也与IL-12相关。IL-18主要由抗原呈递细胞产生，是一种多效性因子，参与先天免疫和获得性免疫反应的调节，在自身免疫性疾病、炎症性疾病和感染性疾病中起关键作用。本综述总结了对IL-18结构、加工、受体表达和免疫调节功能的最新认识，并强调了这种细胞因子在细菌感染中的关键作用。它重点关注这种细胞因子在抵御包括李斯特菌、志贺氏菌、沙门氏菌和结核分枝杆菌在内的细胞内细菌中的参与情况。由于这种细胞因子在最需要细胞反应的免疫预防和免疫治疗干预中可能特别有用，因此还讨论了IL-18的潜在治疗方面。
