Interleukin-2 Family Members and their Role in Demyelinating Disease

Authors: Bhopale MK*

DOI: 10.23880/aii-16000125

Volume 2, Issue 2

Abstract

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has a family which includes IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15 and IL-21 cytokines. This family group of an IL-2 cytokine plays important, but different roles in neurologically related demyelinating disease studied in multiple sclerosis (MS) and it’s experimentally induced rodent models. IL-2 play role in strong T-cell expansion and participates in the maintenance of T-regs cells, but also keep in the stimulation and proliferation of pathogenic T cells. IL-4 induces differentiation of naïve helper T cells (Th0) to Th2 cells. IL-7 promotes Th1 cell differentiation. IL-9 is a hematopoietic growth factor for major pathogenic Th17 cells in EAE. IL-15 is necessary for memory CD8+ T cells and plays a negative regulatory role through CD8+ CD122+ T cells in reducing Th17-mediated inflammation. IL-21 has potent regulatory effects on the natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells. IL-21 activates CD4+ and up-regulates the Th2 and Th17 subsets of T helper cells. Based on different roles of each family member in demyelinating disease, bio-agents and therapeutic agents have been attempted in an experimental model to study their role in demyelinating disease is described in the present review.

Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis; Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis; Demyelinating Disease; Role of IL-2, IL-4, IL7, IL-9, IL-15, IL-21 Cytokines; Drugs; Bio-agents; Immune Response; Therapy

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