Spolski Rosanne, Leonard Warren J
Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-1674, USA.
Curr Opin Immunol. 2008 Jun;20(3):295-301. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2008.02.004. Epub 2008 Jun 12.
IL-21 is a type I cytokine that like IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-15 shares the common cytokine receptor gamma chain, gamma(c). IL-21 is produced by activated CD4(+) T cells, NKT cells, and Th17 cells and has pleiotropic actions on a range of lymphoid lineages. IL-21 regulates immunoglobulin production and drives B cell terminal differentiation into plasma cells, cooperatively expands CD8(+) T cells and drives Th17 differentiation, has inhibitory effects on antigen presentation by dendritic cells, and can be pro-apoptotic for B and NK cells. Moreover, IL-21 has potent anti-tumor effects and is implicated in the development of autoimmune diseases. Regulating IL-21 actions in vivo therefore has clinical potential for a range of diseases and is an area of active investigation.
白细胞介素-21（IL-21）是一种I型细胞因子，与白细胞介素-2（IL-2）、白细胞介素-4（IL-4）、白细胞介素-7（IL-7）、白细胞介素-9（IL-9）和白细胞介素-15一样，共用共同的细胞因子受体γ链（γ(c)）。IL-21由活化的CD4(+) T细胞、自然杀伤T细胞（NKT细胞）和辅助性T细胞17（Th17细胞）产生，对一系列淋巴细胞谱系具有多效性作用。IL-21调节免疫球蛋白的产生，并驱动B细胞终末分化为浆细胞，协同扩增CD8(+) T细胞并驱动Th17分化，对树突状细胞的抗原呈递具有抑制作用，并且对B细胞和自然杀伤细胞（NK细胞）可能具有促凋亡作用。此外，IL-21具有强大的抗肿瘤作用，并与自身免疫性疾病的发生有关。因此，在体内调节IL-21的作用对一系列疾病具有临床潜力，是一个正在积极研究的领域。
