Interleukin-18: recent advances

Purpose of review Interleukin-18 (IL-1 8) has potent immunomodulatory effects. It is the only cytokine with a unique capacity to induce T helper 1 or T helper 2 polarization, depending on the immunologic context. Serum levels of IL-18 are increased in many human diseases and it has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several immune-mediated processes. Some of the recent key advances in the immunobiology of IL-18 are discussed in this review. Recent findings Recent data from several laboratories have shed light on the structure of IL-18; the signaling cascades that are initiated; and its role on modulating T cells, dendritic cells, and natural killer cell function. Several new reports have expanded and delineated the role of IL-18 in a multitude of diseases, but only recent advances in the role of IL-1 8 in three disease processes (acute graft-versus-host disease, insulin-dependent diabetes, and sepsis), where it appears to play paradoxic roles are discussed. Summary Although emerging data shed more light on the complex role of IL-1 8 in immune reactions, they also pose more questions. Given the pleiotropic, complex, and at times paradoxic effects of IL-1 8 in various disease processes, better understanding of its immunobiology might lead to the development of IL-18 and/ or its antagonists as therapeutic agents against immune-mediated diseases.