Institute of Digestive Disease, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Qingyuan People's Hospital, Qingyuan, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shunde New Rongqi Hospital, Foshan, China.
Semin Liver Dis. 2023 Aug;43(3):336-350. doi: 10.1055/a-2153-8836. Epub 2023 Aug 15.
Cytokines are important components of the immune system that can predict or influence the development of liver diseases. IL-37, a new member of the IL-1 cytokine family, exerts potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects inside and outside cells. IL-37 expression differs before and after liver lesions, suggesting that it is associated with liver disease; however, its mechanism of action remains unclear. This article mainly reviews the biological characteristics of IL-37, which inhibits hepatitis, liver injury, and liver fibrosis by inhibiting inflammation, and inhibits the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating the immune microenvironment. Based on additional evidence, combining IL-37 with liver disease markers for diagnosis and treatment can achieve more significant effects, suggesting that IL-37 can be developed into a powerful tool for the clinical adjuvant treatment of liver diseases, especially HCC.
细胞因子是免疫系统的重要组成部分，能够预测或影响肝脏疾病的发展。IL-37 是 IL-1 细胞因子家族的新成员，在细胞内外发挥强大的抗炎和免疫抑制作用。IL-37 在肝损伤前后的表达不同，提示其与肝病有关；但其作用机制尚不清楚。本文主要综述了 IL-37 的生物学特性，其通过抑制炎症抑制肝炎、肝损伤和肝纤维化，通过调节免疫微环境抑制肝细胞癌（HCC）的发生。基于更多的证据，将 IL-37 与肝病标志物结合用于诊断和治疗可以取得更显著的效果，提示 IL-37 可以开发成为肝脏疾病，尤其是 HCC 的临床辅助治疗的有力工具。
