From HIV to cancer, IL-37 regulates immune system
“Knowing this mechanism that underlies IL-37’s effect on the immune system now allows us to study IL-37 function and perhaps dysfunction in a wide range of diseases,” says Mayumi Fujita, MD, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, associate professor in the CU School of Medicine Department of Dermatology, and the paper’s senior author. For example, knowing that IL-37 helps to create overall immune system sensitivity could allow researchers to manipulate IL-37 levels to sensitize the immune system to recognize and target tumor tissue, or desensitize the immune system in auto-immune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis in which the immune system acts over-aggressively toward healthy tissue. …