Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Pathway

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family of cytokines comprises 11 proteins (IL-1F1 to IL-1F11) encoded by 11 distinct genes in humans and mice. IL-1-type cytokines are major mediators of innate immune reactions, and blockade of the founding members IL-1alpha or IL-1beta by the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) has demonstrated a central role of IL-1 in a number of human autoinflammatory diseases. IL-1alpha or IL-1beta rapidly increase messenger RNA expression of hundreds of genes in multiple different cell types. The potent proinflammatory activities of IL-1alpha and IL-1beta are restricted at three major levels: (i) synthesis and release, (ii) membrane receptors, and (iii) intracellular signal transduction.…