Open Access

REVIEW

Negar Moradian^1,2, Mahdi Gouravani^1,2, Mohammad Amin Salehi^1,2, Arash Heidari^1,2, Melika Shafeghat^1,2, Michael R. Hamblin^3,4,5, Nima Rezaei^1,2,6
European Cytokine Network, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 81-93, 2020, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2020.0451
Abstract Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reached pandemic proportions at the beginning of 2020 and continues to be a worldwide concern. End organ damage and acute respiratory distress syndrome are the leading causes of death in severely or critically ill patients. The elevated cytokine levels in severe patients in comparison with mildly affected patients suggest that cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurs in the severe form of the disease. In this paper, the significant role of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, and their mechanism of action in the CRS cascade is explained. Potential therapeutic approaches involving anti-IL-6 More >

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Maroua Chaouali^1,2, Mouna Ben Azaiez¹, Aymen Tezeghdenti¹, Besma Yacoubi-Oueslati², Ezzedine Ghazouani¹, Radhia Kochkar¹
European Cytokine Network, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 94-103, 2020, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2020.0450
Abstract Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic hepatitis of unknown etiology and several cytokines have been implicated in its pathogenesis and onset. Our objective was to determine the profile of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-23, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10 in autoimmune hepatitis and their association with HLA gene polymorphisms. Serum cytokine levels were determined in 50 autoimmune hepatitis patients and one hundred fifty controls using chemiluminescence and ELISA techniques and HLA genotyping performed by PCR SSP. The levels of IL-6 (12 pg/mL vs. 5.5 pg/mL, p = 0.017), IL-8 (24.1 pg/mL vs. 7.8 More >

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Ana M. Vuletić¹, Gordana M. Konjević^1,2, Annette K. Larsen³, Nada L. Babović⁴, Vladimir B. Jurišić⁵, Ana Krivokuća¹, Katarina M. Mirjačić Martinović¹
European Cytokine Network, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 104-112, 2020, DOI:10.1684/ ecn.2020.0449
Abstract NK cells are important effectors of innate immunity that mount the first line of defense toward tumor growth. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) has recently been shown to regulate NK cell function, although its role in the regulation of NK cell function in cancer patients has not been clarified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of IL-4 on the function and the receptor characteristics of CD16-defined NK cells and their cytotoxic CD16bright and regulatory CD16dim subsets. Peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from 36 metastatic melanoma (MM) patients treated for 18 h with 10 ng/mL IL-4… More >

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Marília Garcia de Oliveira¹, Fábio da Ressureição Sgnotto², Thamires Rodrigues de Sousa¹, Beatriz Oliveira Fagundes¹, Alberto Joséda Silva Duarte^1,3, Jefferson Russo Victor^1,4
European Cytokine Network, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 113-117, 2020, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2020.0452
Abstract The mechanisms through which maternal immunization can modulate offspring thymic maturation of lymphocytes are not fully understood. Here, we aimed to evaluate whether maternal OVA-immunization can inhibit the maturation of Th17 cells on offspring thymus. C57BL/6 females were immunized with OVA in Alum or Alum alone and mated with normal WT males. Offspring thymus was evaluated at three or 20 days of age. The demonstration that maternal OVA-immunization can inhibit offspring allergy development validated our experimental protocol. First, we observed that maternal OVA-immunization can inhibit the expression of RORγt and IL-17 molecules on immature T More >

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