AUTHOR=Han Miao-miao , Yuan Xin-rong , Shi Xiang , Zhu Xing-Yu , Su Yue , Xiong De-Kai , Zhang Xing-Min , Zhou Huan , Wang Ji-Nian TITLE=The Pathological Mechanism and Potential Application of IL-38 in Autoimmune Diseases JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.732790 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2021.732790 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=

Interleukin-38 (IL-38), a new cytokine of interleukin-1 family (IL-1F), is expressed in the human heart, kidney, skin, etc. Recently, new evidence indicated that IL-38 is involved in the process of different autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are a cluster of diseases accompanied with tissue damage caused by autoimmune reactions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, etc. This review summarized the links between IL-38 and autoimmune diseases, as well as the latest knowledge about the function and regulatory mechanism of IL-38 in autoimmune diseases. Especially, this review focused on the differentiation of immune cells and explore future prospects, such as the application of IL-38 in new technologies. Understanding the function of IL-38 is helpful to shed light on the progress of autoimmune diseases.