There have been extensive developments on cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune
regulation in allergy, asthma, autoimmune diseases, tumor development, organ transplantation,
and chronic infections during the last few years. Better understanding the functions,
reciprocal regulation, and counterbalance of subsets of immune and inflammatory cells
that interact through interleukins, interferons, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta offer opportunities
for immune interventions and novel treatment modalities in the era of development
of biological immune response modifiers particularly targeting these molecules or
their receptors. More than 60 cytokines have been designated as interleukins since
the initial discoveries of monocyte and lymphocyte interleukins (called IL-1 and IL-2,
respectively). Studies of transgenic or gene-deficient mice with altered expression
of these cytokines or their receptors and analyses of mutations and polymorphisms
in human genes that encode these products have provided essential information about
their functions. Here we review recent developments on IL-1 to IL-38, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta,
and interferons. We highlight recent advances during the last few years in this area
and extensively discuss their cellular sources, targets, receptors, signaling pathways,
and roles in immune regulation in patients with allergy and asthma and other inflammatory
diseases.
