The bio-mission of interleukin-6 in the pathogenesis of COVID-19: A brief look at potential therapeutic tactics

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), known as an inflammatory cytokine, can be involved in many innate and adaptive immune responses. The role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently received much more attention due to the spread of the virus and its pandemic potential. Cytokine storm is among the most critical pathological events in patients affected with coronaviruses (CoVs), i.e., severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and COVID-19, causing inflammation-induced lung injury and also occurring as a result of dysregulation of immune responses to the mentioned viruses. IL-6, along with some other inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1 beta (β), IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), as well as inflammatory chemokines, can significantly contribute to, fever, lymphopenia, coagulation, lung injury, and multi-organ failure (MOF). Therefore, researchers are to explore novel approaches to treat the disease through targeting of IL-6 and its receptors based on prior experience of other disorders. In this review article, the latest findings on the role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, as well as therapeutic perspectives, were summarized and discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Inc

Correction to: Destructive Roles of Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes in Chronic Inflammation and Joint Damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis (Inflammation, (2021), 44, 2, (466-479), 10.1007/s10753-020-01371-1)

Following the publication of the original article, the corresponding author noticed that the second corresponding author has not been mentioned. The below statement must be added to the correspondence section: Jafar Karami; Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] The original article has been corrected. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Higher Circulating Concentration of Interleukin-38 in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: Its Association with Disease Severity

Evidence showed that chronic inflammatory and immunopathological responses play a pivotal role in the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Interleukin-38 (IL-38) as a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine with influential modulatory properties on both innate and adaptive immune responses can be involved in the pathogenesis of OA. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the serum level of IL-38 in OA patients to clarify the positive or negative association with disease and its severity. Blood specimens were collected from two groups including 23newly-diagnosed OA patients and 22 healthy sex and age-matched subjects as a control group. Serum IL-38 quantities were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Significantly higher IL-38 levels were detected in OA patients in comparison with the healthy group (265.78±41.27 pg/mL vs 44.23±6.04 pg/mL, p=0.0001). The IL-38 concentration in OA patients with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores>40 and in OA patients with visual analog scale (VAS) scores >5 werehigher than those with WOMAC scores25 (p=0.05). According to our findings, WOMAC, VAS, and BMI indices may influence the IL-38 serum levels in OA patients and it may be elevated in OA patients to modulate inflammatory responses in a compensatory manner.The patients with OA, especially those with more severe disease express higher serum amounts of IL-38. Accordingly, IL-38 may be considered as a valuable marker for OA

Role(s) of cytokines in pulpitis: Latest evidence and therapeutic approaches

Pulpitis is known as a typical inflammation of dental pulp tissue, and microorganisms of the oral microbiome are involved in this opportunistic infection. Studies indicated that several factors related to host response have a crucial role in pulpitis. Among these factors, inflammatory mediators of the immune system such as cytokines and chemokines contribute to pulpal defense mechanisms. A wide range of cytokines have been observed in dental pulp and these small molecules are able to trigger inflammation and participate in immune cell trafficking, cell proliferation, inflammation, and tissue damage in pulp space. Therefore, the aim of this review was to describe the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of pulpitis. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Role of galectin-3 in the pathogenesis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma

Galectins constitute an evolutionary conserved family that binds to β-galactosides. There is growing evidence that galectins are implicated in essential biological processes such as cellular communication, inflammation, differentiation and apoptosis. Galectin-3 is one of the best-known galectins, which is found in vertebrates. Galectin-3 has been shown to be expressed in some cell lines and plays important roles in several physiological and pathological processes, including cell adhesion, cell activation and chemoattraction, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell growth, and differentiation. Moreover, this galectin is of interest due to its involvement in regulation of cancer. Changes in galectin-3 expression are commonly seen in cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions and galectin-3 may be involved in the regulation of cancer cell activities that contribute to tumourigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis. Finally, galectin-3 seems to be involved in cell events in tumor microenvironment, and therefore it could be considered as a target in transitional cell carcinoma therapies. This review aims to describe recent progress in understanding the role of galectin-3 in cancer biology, with emphasis on bladder tumor progression and metastasis

New insights into the role of stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis

The etiology of several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) is still not clarified. MS is defined as an autoimmune disease with clinical features of a chronic, inflammatory, and demyelinating autoimmune disorder, which affects the central nervous system. Phases of remission and relapse are the major course of the disease, which could be exacerbated in terms of both severity and duration. As a subfamily of the cytokines, chemokines act as chemoattractants for a wide variety of cells, including immune cells. CXCL12, which is an important member of the CXC subfamily, has been widely explored in the hematopoietic system. In the peripheral immune system, CXCL12/CXCR4 performs pleiotropic functions. CXCL12 is a highly effective chemoattractant for lymphocytes and monocytes but not neutrophils. CXCL12 is present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS and other inflammatory neurological disorders. The aim of this study is to summarize recent findings regarding the relationship between CXCL12 and MS