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Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
IL-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine. During infection it inhibits the activity of Th1 cells, NK cells, and macrophages, all of which are required for optimal pathogen clearance but also contribute to tissue damage. In consequence, IL-10 can both impede pathogen clearance and ameliorate immunopathology. Many different types of cells can produce IL-10, with the major source of IL-10 varying in different tissues or during acute or chronic stages of the same infection. The priming of these various IL-10-producing populations during infections is not well understood and it is not clear whether the cellular source of IL-10 during infection dictates its cellular target and thus its outcome. In this article we review the biology of IL-10, its cellular sources, and its role in viral, bacterial, and protozoal infections.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 Current address: School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Eleanor M. Riley, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, U.K. E-mail address: eleanor.riley{at}lshtm.ac.uk
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: DC, dendritic cell; Foxp3, Forkhead box transcription factor 3; Treg, regulatory T cell; nTreg, natural Treg.
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