5hn1

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Dysregulation of the inflammatory response underlies numerous diseases. Although most interleukin-1 family cytokines are proinflammatory, human interleukin-37 (IL-37) is a powerful, broad-spectrum inhibitor of inflammation and immunity. We determined the crystal structure of IL-37 to establish the anti-inflammatory mechanism of this key cytokine in view of developing IL-37-based therapies. We found that two beta-trefoil fold IL-37 molecules form a head-to-head dimer that is stable in solution. IL-37 variants mutated to convert the cytokine into an obligate monomer were up to 13-fold more effective than the dimer in suppressing proinflammatory events both in primary human blood cells and in vivo in murine endotoxic shock. Therapeutic exploitation of the powerful anti-inflammatory properties of monomeric IL-37 may prove beneficial in treating a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

Homodimerization attenuates the anti-inflammatory activity of interleukin-37.,Ellisdon AM, Nold-Petry CA, D'Andrea L, Cho SX, Lao JC, Rudloff I, Ngo D, Lo CY, Soares da Costa TP, Perugini MA, Conroy PJ, Whisstock JC, Nold MF Sci Immunol. 2017 Feb 10;2(8). pii: eaaj1548. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aaj1548. PMID:28783685^[3]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.