IL-17 in the lung: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The IL-17 family of cytokines has emerged over the last two decades as a pleiotropic group of molecules that function in a wide variety of both beneficial and detrimental (pathologic) processes mainly in mucosal barrier tissue. The beneficial effects of IL-17 expression are especially important in the lung where exposure to foreign agents is abundant. IL-17A plays an important role in protection from both extracellular bacteria and fungi as well as viruses that infect cells of the mucosal tracts. IL-17 co-regulated cytokines such as IL-22 are involved in maintaining epithelial cell homeostasis and participate in epithelial cell repair / regeneration following inflammatory insults. Thus, the IL-17 / IL-22 axis is important in both responding to, and recovering from pathogens. However, aberrant or over-expression of IL-17 cytokines contributes to a number of pathologic outcomes including asthma, pneumonitis, and generation or exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis. This review covers the good, bad and ugly aspects of IL-17 in the lung.

from # All Medicine by Alexandros G. Sfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2wmEpsQ
via IFTTT