IL-31: A new key player in dermatology and beyond

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Vol. 141; no. 3; pp. 858 - 866
• Main Authors: Bağci, Işın Sinem, Ruzicka, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2018; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Animal models; Asthma; atopic eczema; Atopy; Bone marrow; Cancer; Cytokines; Dermatitis; Dermatology; Eczema; IL-31; Immune response; Inflammation; interleukins; Kinases; Leukemia; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Musculoskeletal system; Oncostatin M; Prostate; pruritus; receptors; pruritus; GPL; receptors; AE; CTCL; OSM; OSMRβ; VAS; atopic eczema; IL-31; interleukins; MMP; STAT; TRP; PI3K; Jak; cytokines; gp130; IL-31RA; IL-31R; PLCA
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.10.045

IL-31 is a novel cytokine expressed in many human tissues and involved mainly in TH2-weighted inflammation. IL-31 signals through a receptor complex consisting of IL-31 receptor α and oncostatin M receptor β. The available data show that IL-31 is strongly linked with chronic pruritic skin disorders, such as atopic eczema, and represents a novel target for directed drug therapy. Regulation of immune responses and cellular differentiation and proliferation are recently elucidated effects of IL-31, suggesting a more complex and diverse area of effect for this novel cytokine. This review summarizes the current knowledge on IL-31 and its receptors and the involvement of IL-31 in diseases both in human subjects and mouse models.