Interleukin-33 and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Lessons from Human Studies

الملخص EN

Interleukin- (IL-) 33 is a widely expressed cytokine present in different cell types, such as epithelial, mesenchymal, and inflammatory cells, supporting a predominant role in innate immunity.

IL-33 can function as a proinflammatory cytokine inducing Th2 type of immune response being involved with the defense against parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition, it has been proposed that IL-33 can act as a signaling molecule alerting the immune system of danger or tissue damage.

Recently, in the intestinal mucosa, overexpression of IL-33 has been reported in samples from patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

This review highlights the available data regarding IL-33 in human IBD and discusses emerging roles for IL-33 as a key modulator of intestinal inflammation.