Department of Immunology, University of Yamanashi, Faculty of Medicine, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan ; Atopy Research Center, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
J Immunol Res. 2014;2014:614529. doi: 10.1155/2014/614529. Epub 2014 Apr 6.
Several parameters of the immune system exhibit oscillations with a period of approximately 24 hours that refers to "circadian rhythms." Such daily variations in host immune system status might evolve to maximize immune reactions at times when encounters with pathogens are most likely to occur. However, the mechanisms behind circadian immunity have not been fully understood. Recent studies reveal that the internal time keeping system "circadian clock" plays a key role in driving the daily rhythms evident in the immune system. Importantly, several studies unveil molecular mechanisms of how certain clock proteins (e.g., BMAL1 and CLOCK) temporally regulate expression of cytokines. Since cytokines are crucial mediators for shaping immune responses, this review mainly summarizes the new knowledge that highlights an emerging role of the circadian clock as a novel regulator of cytokines. A greater understanding of circadian regulation of cytokines will be important to exploit new strategies to protect host against infection by efficient cytokine induction or to treat autoimmunity and allergy by ameliorating excessive activity of cytokines.
免疫系统的几个参数表现出约 24 小时的周期波动,这被称为“昼夜节律”。宿主免疫系统状态的这种日常变化可能会发展到最大限度地提高对病原体的免疫反应,因为最有可能遇到病原体。然而,昼夜节律免疫背后的机制尚未完全理解。最近的研究表明,内部时间保持系统“生物钟”在驱动免疫系统中明显的每日节律方面起着关键作用。重要的是,有几项研究揭示了某些时钟蛋白(例如,BMAL1 和 CLOCK)如何在时间上调节细胞因子表达的分子机制。由于细胞因子是塑造免疫反应的关键介质,因此,本综述主要总结了突出昼夜钟作为细胞因子新型调节剂的新认识。深入了解细胞因子的昼夜调节将有助于开发新策略,通过有效诱导细胞因子来保护宿主免受感染,或通过改善细胞因子的过度活性来治疗自身免疫和过敏。