Vaccarezza Mauro, Delbello Giorgio, Zauli Giorgio
Department of Health and Motor Sciences, University of Cassino, Cassino FR, Italy.
Acta Biomed. 2007;78 Suppl 1:262-7.
The TNF-alpha super-family of cytokines comprises structurally related proteins that play pivotal roles in regulating cell death, immune response and inflammation. A new member of the family namely Tumor necrosis factor alpha-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) is involved not only in apoptosis and immune regulation, but also it has a provocative role in vascular biology as reported recently. In this report we provide evidence that this new function of TRAIL may have a significance in the pathogenesis of diabetes and in particular in the vascular alterations that occur late during the natural history of the illness. Noteworthy, depending on the type of diabetes and on the disease stage, TRAIL can have a dual role, either as immune modulator as well as a regulatory molecule of the vascular wall fitness.
细胞因子的肿瘤坏死因子-α超家族由结构相关的蛋白质组成，这些蛋白质在调节细胞死亡、免疫反应和炎症中起关键作用。该家族的一个新成员，即肿瘤坏死因子-α相关凋亡诱导配体（TRAIL），不仅参与细胞凋亡和免疫调节，而且如最近报道的那样，它在血管生物学中也具有激发作用。在本报告中，我们提供证据表明，TRAIL的这一新功能可能在糖尿病发病机制中具有重要意义，特别是在疾病自然史后期发生的血管改变方面。值得注意的是，根据糖尿病类型和疾病阶段，TRAIL可以具有双重作用，既作为免疫调节剂，又作为血管壁健康的调节分子。
