1. Academic Validation
  2. Hiding in Plain Sight: Interleukin-11 Emerges as a Master Regulator of Fibrosis, Tissue Integrity, and Stromal Inflammation

Hiding in Plain Sight: Interleukin-11 Emerges as a Master Regulator of Fibrosis, Tissue Integrity, and Stromal Inflammation

  • Annu Rev Med. 2020 Jan 27;71:263-276. doi: 10.1146/annurev-med-041818-011649.
Stuart A Cook 1 2 3 4 Sebastian Schafer 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Program, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, 169857 Singapore, Singapore; email: stuart.cook@duke-nus.edu.sg, sebastian@duke-nus.edu.sg.
  • 2 National Heart Research Institute Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, 169609 Singapore, Singapore.
  • 3 National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW3 6LY, United Kingdom.
  • 4 MRC-London Institute of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.
Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-11 is upregulated in a wide variety of fibro-inflammatory diseases such as systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, drug-induced liver injury, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. IL-11 is a member of the IL-6 cytokine family and has several distinct properties that define its unique and nonredundant roles in disease. The IL-11 Receptor is highly expressed on stromal, epithelial and polarized cells, where noncanonical IL-11 signaling drives the three pathologies common to all fibro-inflammatory diseases-myofibroblast activation, parenchymal cell dysfunction, and inflammation-while also inhibiting tissue regeneration. This cytokine has been little studied, and publications on IL-11 peaked in the early 1990s, when it was largely misunderstood. Here we describe recent advances in our understanding of IL-11 biology, outline how misconceptions as to its function came about, and highlight the large potential of therapies targeting IL-11 signaling for treating human disease.

Keywords

IL-11; IL11; drug target; fibroblast; fibrosis; inflammation; interleukin-11; stroma.

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