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An immunopathogenic perspective of interleukin-1 signaling

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 17, pages 892–893 (2020)Cite this article

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Interleukin-1 (IL-1), referred to as two distinct proteins, IL-1α and IL-1β, was first described almost 50 years ago.1 IL-1α and IL-1β represent immediate early innate cytokines critically involved in alarming and activating the host defense system.2 Therefore, any impairment of IL-1 signaling pathways often leads to devastating outcomes, such as autoimmunity and autoinflammation, dysmetabolism, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer.2 Many advances in targeting IL-1 in immune therapies have been achieved; for example, the IL-1-blocking agents anakinra (IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-1Ra), canakinumab (anti-IL-1β mAb), and MABp1 (anti-IL-1α mAb) have been approved for clinical use or are being evaluated.2 Remarkably, the CANTOS study, which included over 10,000 patients, showed that blocking IL-1β not only reduced atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular mortality but was also effective in inflammatory diseases related to lung cancer, arthrosis, and gout.3

Nevertheless, because of the specific spatiotemporal expression pattern of IL-1 and the complex regulatory networks of IL-1-related pathways, it is still not fully understood how exactly IL-1 functions, and how to precisely rectify dysfunctional IL-1 signaling during diverse inflammatory conditions remains unknown.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Xinwen Lin, Trix Twelkmeyer & Hong Tang

  2. IPS-GWCMC Joint Center for Infection and Immunity, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Xinwen Lin, Trix Twelkmeyer & Hong Tang

  3. College of Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Xinwen Lin & Chao Zhang

  4. Treatment and Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing, China

    Si-Yu Wang, Ruo-Nan Xu, Fu-Sheng Wang & Chao Zhang

  5. Pasteurien College, Suzhou University, Jiangsu, China

    Hong Tang

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  1. Xinwen Lin
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  2. Trix Twelkmeyer
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Correspondence to Chao Zhang or Hong Tang.

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Lin, X., Twelkmeyer, T., Wang, SY. et al. An immunopathogenic perspective of interleukin-1 signaling. Cell Mol Immunol 17, 892–893 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0475-y

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