Study: SARS-CoV-2 can alter genome structure of our cells

People infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may experience genome structure changes that not only may explain our immunological symptoms after infection, but also potentially link to long COVID, according ...

Decoding the language of immune responses

Fever, cough, sore throat—symptoms in the spotlight in the era of COVID-19—are just some of the telltale signs of our body's immune system kicking into action against an unwanted intruder. Whether triggered by an infection, ...

'Bliss' compound may hold out hope for autoimmune skin disease

A marijuana-like compound holds out promise as a new treatment for a severe autoimmune skin disease called skin lupus, according to a study published recently by a multicenter team including researchers at the George Washington ...

Snail mucus yields natural adhesive for wound healing

Land snails and their mucus were used in ancient times by Hippocrates and Pliny to treat pain associated with burns, abscesses and other wounds. Inspired by this ancient therapy, Prof. Wu Mingyi and his team at the Kunming ...

Improving nanotherapeutic vaccine delivery

Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a more effective way of creating nanotherapeutic vaccines and medicines, according to a new study published in ACS Nano.

Mice can eat 'junk' and not get fat

A study in the September 4th issue of the journal Cell identifies a gene that springs into action in response to a high fat diet. Mice that lack the gene become essentially immune to growing obese, regardless of their eating ...

Nanoscale sensor to spot disease

A new nanoscale sensor has been developed that can help detect cytokines—molecules that play a critical role in cellular response to infection, inflammation, trauma and disease.

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Cytokine

Cytokines (Greek cyto-, cell; and -kinos, movement) are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by the glial cells of the nervous system and by numerous cells of the immune system and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication. Cytokines can be classified as proteins, peptides, or glycoproteins; the term "cytokine" encompasses a large and diverse family of regulators produced throughout the body by cells of diverse embryological origin.

The term "cytokine" has been used to refer to the immunomodulating agents, such as interleukins and interferons. Biochemists disagree as to which molecules should be termed cytokines and which hormones. As we learn more about each, anatomic and structural distinctions between the two are fading. Classic protein hormones circulate in nanomolar (10-9) concentrations that usually vary by less than one order of magnitude. In contrast, some cytokines (such as IL-6) circulate in picomolar (10-12) concentrations that can increase up to 1,000-fold during trauma or infection. The widespread distribution of cellular sources for cytokines may be a feature that differentiates them from hormones. Virtually all nucleated cells, but especially endo/epithelial cells and resident macrophages (many near the interface with the external environment) are potent producers of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α. In contrast, classic hormones, such as insulin, are secreted from discrete glands (e.g., the pancreas). As of 2008, the current terminology refers to cytokines as immunomodulating agents. However, more research is needed in this area of defining cytokines and hormones.

Part of the difficulty with distinguishing cytokines from hormones is that some of the immunomodulating effects of cytokines are systemic rather than local. For instance, to use hormone terminology, the action of cytokines may be autocrine or paracrine in chemotaxis and endocrine as a pyrogen. Further, as molecules, cytokines are not limited to their immunomodulatory role. For instance, cytokines are also involved in several developmental processes during embryogenesis

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