Cytokines and Disease
Cytokines and Disease
Cytokines and Disease
Mediators of Inflammation
Volume 2014, Article ID 209041, 2 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/209041
Editorial
Cytokines and Disease
Copyright © 2014 Arkadiusz Orzechowski et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Recent evidence in biology and medicine has expanded the of intranasal synthetic steroid (mometasone furoate) therapy,
knowledge of cytokines function in many disease states and downregulated the expression of Th2 cytokines in PBMCs
conditions as well as the severe adverse effects implicated in through MAPK and PI3-K signaling pathways in AR. The
the escalated production associated with specific disease con- paper entitled “Tumour necrosis factor superfamily members
ditions. This special issue was intended to provide an updated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease” reviews
view on the role of cytokines in the disease pathogenesis of the contribution of the tumor necrosis superfamily (TNFSF)
degenerative and neoplastic disorders. Special emphasis has to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
been dedicated to the contribution of cytokines to systemic Special attention was drawn on TL1A, FasL, LIGHT, TRAIL,
conditions including but not limited to neurodegeneration, and TWEAK as possible targets in IBD treatment through
cancer, and graft/prosthesis rejection. To address these issues their role on apoptosis and T-cell differentiation. One of
we invited authors who could shed light on the contribution the papers of this special issue is a review featuring TNF-
of cytokines on such diseases, identify mechanisms employed 𝛼 as a proinflammatory cytokine exerting both homeostatic
by tumor cells to subvert the host cytokine response, provide and pathophysiological roles in the central nervous system.
new cellular and animal models to test and understand the It summarizes the current knowledge of the cellular and
activity of cytokines in degenerative and neoplastic diseases, molecular mechanisms by which TNF-𝛼 links the neuroin-
highlight cytokines involved in neurodegeneration, and illus- flammatory and excitotoxic processes that occur in several
trate how cytokines affect graft and prosthesis rejection. neurodegenerative diseases, but with a special emphasis
One of the papers of this special issue addresses the dynam- on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It stresses the de
ics of acute local inflammatory response to the intramuscular novo production of TNF-𝛼 by microglia as an important
cell transfer in autologous cell models. Early immune reaction component of the so-called neuroinflammatory response
(infiltration with neutrophils and macrophages) at the site which may represent a valuable target for intervention. The
of injection was accompanied by considerable rise of Il- paper entitled “Protective effects of lipoxin A4 in testis injury
1𝛼, Il-6, Tgf-𝛽, and Tnf-𝛼 gene expressions. Autotransplan- following testicular torsion and detorsion in rats” describes the
tation of muscle-derived cells into skeletal muscle resulted study on the protective effects of lipoxin A4 (LXA4), a lipid
in marked decrease of viable transplanted cells which may mediator with potent anti-inflammatory properties, in rat
contribute to the low efficacy of cellular grafts. Another testis injury following testicular torsion/detorsion. Lipoxin
paper presents the observations collected from children with A4 protective effect takes place via modulation of proinflam-
allergic rhinitis (AR). The authors showed that the anti- matory cytokines, oxidative stress, and NF-𝜅B activity. The
inflammatory cytokine IL-37b, a member of the interleukin paper by J. M. Zarzynska addresses the current view on the
1 cytokine family whose expression is related to the efficacy dual role played by TGF-𝛽1 in breast cancer insurgence and
2 Mediators of Inflammation