Interleukin 17F (IL-17F) is signaling protein that is in human is encoded by the IL17F gene and is considered a pro-inflammatory cytokine. This protein belongs to the interleukin 17 family and is mainly produced by the T helper 17 cells after their stimulation with interleukin 23. However, IL-17F can be also produced by a wide range of cell types, including innate immune cells and epithelial cells. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The IL17F gene is located on chromosome 6p12 and was discovered in 2001. This cytokine can be secreted as disulfide-linked homodimer or heterodimer. [9] [10]
IL-17F is involved in the development of inflammation and host defense against infection by inducing the expression of genes that encode other proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1, interleukin 6 and some members of the colony-stimulating factor family. IL-17F can also induce expression of chemokines, such as CXCL1, CXCL5, interleukin 8, CCL7 and others, thereby promoting inflammation and neutrophil recruitment. IL-17F signaling can also lead to antimicrobial peptide and matrix metalloproteinase production. The target cells of IL-17F are epithelial cells, fibroblasts, keratinocytes, synoviocytes and endothelial cells. These cells express IL-17RA and IL-17RC, which are the receptors IL-17F binds. IL-17F shows a broad tissue expression pattern, including the lungs, where it may be associated with the pathogenesis of asthma. IL-17F employs Act1[ clarification needed ] and TRAF6 as its signal transducers to induce the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in many different cell types. IL-17F signaling also activates the MAP kinase pathway and leads to the activation of NF-κB, MAPK-AP-1 and C/EBP. [7] [9] [11]
IL-17F is highly (55%) homologous to interleukin-17A (IL-17A). These two molecules bind to the same receptors and are very likely to have similar biological functions. IL-17A and IL-17F are often co-expressed. However, IL-17F is a weaker inducer of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and is produced by a wider range of cell types than IL-17A. Another difference lies in the binding affinities for their receptors: IL-17A binds more strongly to IL-17RA, IL-17F to IL-17RC. [7] [12] [13]
The interleukin 17 family members are among the effector cytokines of Th17 immune response. This immune response protects hosts from pathogens at epithelial and mucosal tissues including the skin, lung, and intestine. The Th17-type immune response is directed primarily against extracellular bacteria. IL-17F as an effector cytokine of Th17 cells is involved in host defense against bacterial infections. It has many mechanisms by which it helps resist bacteria. IL-17F has the ability to stimulate the production of defensins and other antimicrobial peptides; it can also resist bacteria through production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that attract neutrophils and other effector cells. [7] [14]
IL-17F is a proinflammatory cytokine associated with many diseases. It very often plays crucial role in autoimmune diseases.
One of the diseases associated with IL-17F is psoriasis. Levels of IL-17F, as well as the levels of IL-17A, are increased in psoriatic skin and in synovial cells in psoriatic arthritis. IL-17F is capable of inducing cartilage matrix release and can inhibit the synthesis of new cartilage matrix. The monoclonal antibody bimekizumab against IL-17A and IL-17F is approved in Europe for the treatment of psoriasis; it may also be useful in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. [15] [16]
IL-17F plays an important role in asthma and allergic airway inflammation. IL-17F has been well characterized both in vitro and in vivo to have a pro-inflammatory role in asthma. IL-17F was originally found in bronchoalveolar lavage cells from patients with allergic asthma upon ragweed allergen stimulation. The expression level of IL-17F correlates with the severity of the disease. Overexpression of this cytokine in the airway is associated with neutrophilia, secretion of many cytokines, increased airway activity and mucus hypersecretion. [9]
IL-17F is also involved in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation. Expression of IL-17F in colon is associated with inflammatory bowel disease, and this inducible IL-17F expression is significantly higher in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis. [11] [16]
Increased expression of IL-17F is also found in neuronal inflammation—specifically, in active lesion sites in experimental autoimmune encephalitis, an animal model of multiple sclerosis. IL-17F together with IL-17A contributes to chronic inflammation. [16]
IL-17F may also be involved in tumorigenesis and associated with the tumor microenvironment (TME), as pro-tumor and anti-tumor functions have been ascribed to the related protein IL-17A has. However, a role for IL-17F in tumor development has not been well described. [7]
The interleukin 4 is a cytokine that induces differentiation of naive helper T cells (Th0 cells) to Th2 cells. Upon activation by IL-4, Th2 cells subsequently produce additional IL-4 in a positive feedback loop. IL-4 is produced primarily by mast cells, Th2 cells, eosinophils and basophils. It is closely related and has functions similar to IL-13.
Interleukin 8 is a chemokine produced by macrophages and other cell types such as epithelial cells, airway smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells. Endothelial cells store IL-8 in their storage vesicles, the Weibel-Palade bodies. In humans, the interleukin-8 protein is encoded by the CXCL8 gene. IL-8 is initially produced as a precursor peptide of 99 amino acids which then undergoes cleavage to create several active IL-8 isoforms. In culture, a 72 amino acid peptide is the major form secreted by macrophages.
Interleukin-23 subunit alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IL23A gene. The protein is also known as IL-23p19. It is one of the two subunits of the cytokine Interleukin-23.
Interleukin 30 (IL-30) forms one chain of the heterodimeric cytokine called interleukin 27 (IL-27), thus it is also called IL27-p28. IL-27 is composed of α chain p28 and β chain Epstain-Barr induce gene-3 (EBI3). The p28 subunit, or IL-30, has an important role as a part of IL-27, but it can be secreted as a separate monomer and has its own functions in the absence of EBI3. The discovery of IL-30 as individual cytokine is relatively new and thus its role in the modulation of the immune response is not fully understood.
Interleukin-25 (IL-25) – also known as interleukin-17E (IL-17E) – is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IL25 gene on chromosome 14. IL-25 was discovered in 2001 and is made up of 177 amino acids.
Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is protein that in humans is encoded by the IL22 gene.
Interleukin 17 family is a family of pro-inflammatory cystine knot cytokines. They are produced by a group of T helper cell known as T helper 17 cell in response to their stimulation with IL-23. Originally, Th17 was identified in 1993 by Rouvier et al. who isolated IL17A transcript from a rodent T-cell hybridoma. The protein encoded by IL17A is a founding member of IL-17 family. IL17A protein exhibits a high homology with a viral IL-17-like protein encoded in the genome of T-lymphotropic rhadinovirus Herpesvirus saimiri. In rodents, IL-17A is often referred to as CTLA8.
Interleukin 19 (IL-19) is an immunosuppressive protein that belongs to the IL-10 cytokine subfamily.
The chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1) is a small peptide belonging to the CXC chemokine family that acts as a chemoattractant for several immune cells, especially neutrophils or other non-hematopoietic cells to the site of injury or infection and plays an important role in regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. It was previously called GRO1 oncogene, GROα, neutrophil-activating protein 3 (NAP-3) and melanoma growth stimulating activity, alpha (MGSA-α). CXCL1 was first cloned from a cDNA library of genes induced by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulation of BALB/c-3T3 murine embryonic fibroblasts and named "KC" for its location in the nitrocellulose colony hybridization assay. This designation is sometimes erroneously believed to be an acronym and defined as "keratinocytes-derived chemokine". Rat CXCL1 was first reported when NRK-52E cells were stimulated with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to generate a cytokine that was chemotactic for rat neutrophils, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC). In humans, this protein is encoded by the gene Cxcl1 and is located on human chromosome 4 among genes for other CXC chemokines.
T helper 17 cells (Th17) are a subset of pro-inflammatory T helper cells defined by their production of interleukin 17 (IL-17). They are related to T regulatory cells and the signals that cause Th17s to actually inhibit Treg differentiation. However, Th17s are developmentally distinct from Th1 and Th2 lineages. Th17 cells play an important role in maintaining mucosal barriers and contributing to pathogen clearance at mucosal surfaces; such protective and non-pathogenic Th17 cells have been termed as Treg17 cells.
C-C chemokine receptor type 9 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCR9 gene. This gene is mapped to the chemokine receptor gene cluster region. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described.
Gamma delta T cells are T cells that have a γδ T-cell receptor (TCR) on their surface. Most T cells are αβ T cells with TCR composed of two glycoprotein chains called α (alpha) and β (beta) TCR chains. In contrast, γδ T cells have a TCR that is made up of one γ (gamma) chain and one δ (delta) chain. This group of T cells is usually less common than αβ T cells. Their highest abundance is in the gut mucosa, within a population of lymphocytes known as intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs).
Interleukin 17 receptor A, also known as IL17RA and CDw217, is a human gene.
Interleukin-17A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IL17A gene. In rodents, IL-17A used to be referred to as CTLA8, after the similarity with a viral gene.
Interleukin-17 receptor (IL-17R) is a cytokine receptor which belongs to new subfamily of receptors binding proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 17A, a member of IL-17 family ligands produced by T helper 17 cells (Th17). IL-17R family consists of 5 members: IL-17RA, IL-17RB, IL-17RC, IL-17RD and IL-17RE. Functional IL-17R is a transmembrane receptor complex usually consisting of one IL-17RA, which is a founding member of the family, and second other family subunit, thus forming heteromeric receptor binding different ligands. IL-17A, a founding member of IL-17 ligand family binds to heteromeric IL-17RA/RC receptor complex. IL-17RB binds preferentially IL-17B and IL-17E and heteromeric IL-17RA/RE complex binds IL-17C. However, there is still unknown ligand for IL-17RD. The first identified member IL-17RA is located on human chromosome 22, whereas other subunits IL-17RB to IL-17RD are encoded within human chromosome 3.
Interleukin 23 (IL-23) is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of an IL-12B (IL-12p40) subunit and an IL-23A (IL-23p19) subunit. IL-23 is part of the IL-12 family of cytokines. The functional receptor for IL-23 consists of a heterodimer between IL-12Rβ1 and IL-23R.
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are the most recently discovered family of innate immune cells, derived from common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs). In response to pathogenic tissue damage, ILCs contribute to immunity via the secretion of signalling molecules, and the regulation of both innate and adaptive immune cells. ILCs are primarily tissue resident cells, found in both lymphoid, and non- lymphoid tissues, and rarely in the blood. They are particularly abundant at mucosal surfaces, playing a key role in mucosal immunity and homeostasis. Characteristics allowing their differentiation from other immune cells include the regular lymphoid morphology, absence of rearranged antigen receptors found on T cells and B cells, and phenotypic markers usually present on myeloid or dendritic cells.
Type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) are immune cells from the lymphoid lineage that are part of the innate immune system. These cells participate in innate mechanisms on mucous membranes, contributing to tissue homeostasis, host-commensal mutualism and pathogen clearance. They are part of a heterogeneous group of innate lymphoid cells, which is traditionally divided into three subsets based on their expression of master transcription factors as well as secreted effector cytokines - ILC1, ILC2 and ILC3.
Th22 cells are subpopulation of CD4+ T cells that produce interleukin-22 (IL-22). They play a role in the protective mechanisms against variety of bacterial pathogens, tissue repair and wound healing, and also in pathologic processes, including inflammations, autoimmunity, tumors, and digestive organs damages.
Act 1 adaptor protein is an essential intermediate in the interleukin-17 pathway. The IL-17 protein is a pro-inflammatory cytokine important for tissue inflammation in host defense against infection and in autoimmune disease. It is produced by the CD4 + T cells, in particular the Th17 cells. There are 6 subtypes of IL-17, from IL-17A to IL17-F, these subtypes have nearly identical structures. We know that the cytokines are interacting homotypically, but IL-17A and IL-17F are capable do perform heterotypic interaction too.