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Interleukin-21 as a potential therapeutic target for systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract

Interleukin-21(IL-21) is the most recently discovered member of the type-I cytokine family. Structurally, IL-21 shows homology to IL-2, 4, and 15 proteins. It has a variety of effects on the immune system, including B cell activation, plasma cell differentiation, and immunoglobulin production. Many previous studies have identified that IL-21 was associated with different autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, recent work has explored the role of IL-21 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Elevated expression of IL-21 was found in the sera of patients and mice with SLE. Moreover, association of IL-21 and IL-21R polymorphisms with susceptibility to SLE have been reported. All these findings suggest that IL-21 may have promise as a potential therapeutic target for SLE. In this review, we will discuss the biological features of IL-21, the IL-21 signaling and its potential role in SLE.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the key program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (30830089).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, 230032, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Li, Hai-Feng Pan, Han Cen, Jing Tian, Yan Ma, Jin-Hui Tao & Dong-Qing Ye

  2. Department of Rheumatology, Anhui Provincial Hospital, 17 Lujiang Road, 230001, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Jin-Hui Tao

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  1. Jing Li
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  2. Hai-Feng Pan
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Correspondence to Dong-Qing Ye.

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Li, J., Pan, HF., Cen, H. et al. Interleukin-21 as a potential therapeutic target for systemic lupus erythematosus. Mol Biol Rep 38, 4077–4081 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-010-0527-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-010-0527-y

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