General Characteristics of Cytokines

Antiviral Interferon

Characteristics of Interferon

General Characteristics of Cytokines

Isolation of interferons and other cytokines.

Lecture 1.7. Cytokine system of organism

FIGURE 4 Summary of the technique for producing monoclonal antibodies by hybridizing myeloma tumor cells with normal plasma cells.

FIGURE 5. The mechanism of an immunotoxin. A potential therapy for cancer and immune dysfunctions is the use of a monoclonal antibody specific for a certain tumor that carries a potent toxin molecule. The antibody would circulate to cancer cells and deliver the toxin to them. Normal body cells would be unharmed.

Plan:

Cytokines are low molecular weight proteins made by certain cells as a mechanism to communicate with other cells. Cytokines produced by lymphocytes are also called lymphokines. Cytokines bind to certain surface receptors, cytokine receptors, found on the cells they regulate, inducing a change such as growth, differentiation, movement, or cell death. Although cytokines are short-lived, they are very powerful, acting at extremely low concentrations. They can act locally, regionally, or systemically. Often, they act together or in sequence, in a complex fashion. The role of cytokines in stimulating the immune system has suggested their use as therapeutic agents (Table 1).

■ Chemokines are cytokines important in chemotaxis of immune cells; more than 50 different varieties have been identified by their structure. Certain types of cells of the host defenses have receptors for chemokines, thereby enhancing their ability to migrate to the appropriate region of the body, such as an area of inflammation.

■ Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) are important in the multiplication and differentiation of leukocytes (see figure 1). During the immune response when more leukocytes are needed, a variety of colony-stimulating factors direct immature cells into the appropriate maturation pathways. CSFs are used therapeutically to increase the numbers of protective macrophages and granulocytes in patients undergoing red bone marrow transplants.

Table 1

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