Williams G, Giroir B P
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9063, USA.
New Horiz. 1995 May;3(2):276-87.
Cytokines are bioactive molecules which mediate host responses to inflammatory stimuli. For cytokines to exert their effects, a number of molecular processes must occur. Inflammatory cells must sense the presence of a stimulus, often by detection of that stimulus via cell-surface receptors. Information detected at the cell surface must be transduced intracellularly, and the machinery of cytokine messenger RNA and protein synthesis initiated. Once secreted, cytokines must bind specific receptors on target tissues; these receptors in turn transduce signals which alter target cell phenotypes and responses. Each one of these steps is tightly regulated and may serve as a target for therapeutic manipulation. In this article, the regulation of cytokine gene expression is summarized, with particular emphasis on the regulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 biosynthesis. Attention is focused on therapeutic agents which alter cytokine production or activity, some of which are currently used in the ICU.
细胞因子是介导宿主对炎症刺激反应的生物活性分子。细胞因子要发挥其作用，必须发生一系列分子过程。炎症细胞必须感知刺激的存在，通常是通过细胞表面受体检测该刺激。在细胞表面检测到的信息必须在细胞内进行转导，并启动细胞因子信使核糖核酸和蛋白质合成机制。一旦分泌，细胞因子必须与靶组织上的特异性受体结合；这些受体反过来转导改变靶细胞表型和反应的信号。这些步骤中的每一步都受到严格调控，并且可能成为治疗干预的靶点。在本文中，总结了细胞因子基因表达的调控，特别强调了肿瘤坏死因子α和白细胞介素-1生物合成的调控。重点关注改变细胞因子产生或活性的治疗药物，其中一些目前在重症监护病房中使用。
