RSS Feeds
Why Should Internists Be Interested in Interleukin-1?
- Ruth Neta, PhD; and
- Joost J. Oppenheim, MD
-
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute,
Bethesda, MD 20814; and National Cancer Institute,
Frederick, MD 21701
Excerpt
Interleukin-1 is a hormone-like polypeptide produced in response to infection, injury, physiologic stress, or antigenic challenge. Originally named for its ability to act as an intercellular signal between leukocytes, interleukin-1 has pleiotropic effects on tissues and organs (1). Fever, elevation of acute-phase reactive proteins, and neutrophilia are some responses to systemic interleukin-1 that make it a key mediator of inflammation (2). As an inflammatory mediator, interleukin-1 may be both beneficial and harmful. Current studies focus on possible therapeutic uses of interleukin-1 itself, as well as its agonists and antagonists. Although the availability of large quantities of recombinant interleukin-1 has made
This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Drs. C. Faltynek, I. Green, C. Pinsky, I. Brook, and E. Leonard, for review of this manuscript.
