Interleukin-18 (IL-18), a pyroptosis-related cytokine linking immunity and metabolism, regulates appetite, body weight and glucose homeostasis. IL-18 has paradoxical roles: its deficiency leads to obesity, whereas chronic signalling promotes liver fibrosis. Elevated in obesity and diabetes mellitus, IL-18 remains a compelling therapeutic target, with IL-18 binding protein showing anti-fibrotic potential in preclinical and early clinical studies.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of a German Research Foundation grant (DFG-Grant 1402/1) awarded to C.S.
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H.M.H. has consulted for Novartis, SOBI and Ventyx and has research collaborations with Regeneron, Jecure, Inapill and Zomagen. L.B. was a site principal investigator for Novartis, and speaker for SOBI. A.E.F. is an employee and stockholder of Pfizer. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.
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Stoess, C., Onyuru, J., Hartmann, P. et al. Interleukin-18 in obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-025-01199-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-025-01199-5
