Cytokines

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in
which to spend one’s leisure
Sidney J. Harris

Who am I? Together with Jean Lindenmann, we discovered and isolated interferon, the first cytokine

RESOURCES

Cytokine web site

This is a commercial site, and is sponsored by Psynix Information Systems Ltd. The site provides informaiton about cytokines and their receptors. Below are some links within the Cytokine Web.

URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/

• 3-D Cytokine Structures
  URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/cyt_strucs/index.html
• 3-D Cytokine Receptor Structures
  URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/recep_strucs/index.html
• TNF receptor (image)
  URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/recep_strucs/tnf_r.gif
• TNF receptor - Top view (image)
  URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/comp_strucs/tnf_comp2.gif
• TNF receptor - Side view (image)
  URL --> http://www.psynix.co.uk/cytweb/comp_strucs/tnf_comp.gif

Dictionary of Cytokines

Dictionary of Cytokines

URL --> http://www.lmb.uni-muenchen.de/groups/ibelgaufts/newfactors.html

Electronic update of the Dictionary of Cytokines

Electronic update of the Dictionary of Cytokines

URL --> http://www.lmb.uni-muenchen.de/groups/ibelgaufts/dictreviews.html

ASSIGNED READING

CHAPTER 13: pp 313-334

OUTLINE/SUMMARY

1. Properties of Cytokines
   • General structure
   • Function
2. Cytokine Receptors
   • General structure
   • Class I cytokine subfamilies
   • IL-2 receptor
   • Signal transduction
3. Cytokine Antagonists
4. Cytokine Secretion by T cells
   • TH1 & TH2 subsets
   • Cytokine cross regulation
   • TH1/TH2 balance and disease
5. Cytokine Related Diseases
   • Bacterial septic shock
   • Bacterial toxic shock
   • Lymphoid & myloid cancers
   • Chagas' disease
6. Therapeutic Uses of Cytokines

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

DEFINE THE FOLLOWING KEY TERMS:

ON COMPLETION OF THIS SECTION THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1. Describe the role of cytokines in the development of immunity
2. Construct a table of the major interleukins and their functions
3. Discuss the role of IL-2 in immune regulation
4. classify the major families of cytokines
5. Describe the positive and negative regulatory roles of transforming growth factor Beta
6. Discuss Tumour Necrosis Factors (TNF)

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

DIFFERENTIATE the following terms:

• cytokines
• lymphokines
• monokines
• interleukins
• The difficulty in characterizing IL-1 is caused by the fact that it seems to be made by every cell and seems to be able to affect every cell. Explain.
• What is Il-1's primary function in immune cell interactions?
• Distinguish betweeen IL-1alpha and IL-1-beta.
• Briefly discuss some important immune functions of IL-2. IL-2 is an autocrine Tcell growth factor. Explain.
• Briefly, discuss the significance of the three forms of the IL-2 receptor.
• What is the connection between IL-2 production fna IFN-gamma production?
• Compare and contrast TNF-beta and TNF-alpha.
• Briefly describe the CSFs.
• Why do you think IFN-gamma was considered to be a "magic bullet"?
• Explain how some cancer cells that can make TGF-beta are immunosuppressive.
• Helper T cells can be divided into two subsets based on their lymphokine secretion profile. Explain.