Donnelly S C, Bucala R
Rayne Laboratory, Respiratory Medicine Unit, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Mol Med Today. 1997 Nov;3(11):502-7. doi: 10.1016/S1357-4310(97)01133-7.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was one of the first cytokines to be identified. In the early 1990s it was 'rediscovered' as a hormone that is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland and counter-regulates the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids. We now know that glucocorticoids stimulate the release of MIF from T cells and macrophages; this appears to be a physiological response to override the effects of glucocorticoids at the inflammatory site. However, this response can become pathological in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which high concentrations of MIF in the alveoli might contribute to ARDS pathogenesis. New insights into the structure and function of MIF, and the possibility of increasing the efficacy of glucocorticoids in the clinic by inhibiting MIF, are discussed in this review.
巨噬细胞移动抑制因子（MIF）是最早被鉴定的细胞因子之一。在20世纪90年代初，它作为一种由垂体前叶分泌的激素被“重新发现”，并能对抗糖皮质激素的抗炎作用。我们现在知道，糖皮质激素可刺激T细胞和巨噬细胞释放MIF；这似乎是一种生理反应，以克服糖皮质激素在炎症部位的作用。然而，这种反应在急性呼吸窘迫综合征（ARDS）中可能会变得病理性，其中肺泡中高浓度的MIF可能有助于ARDS的发病机制。本文综述了对MIF结构和功能的新见解，以及通过抑制MIF提高糖皮质激素临床疗效的可能性。
