The roles of IL-17C in T cell-dependent and -independent inflammatory diseases

Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 24;8(1):15750. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34054-x.

Abstract

IL-17C, which is a member of the IL-17 family of cytokines, is preferentially produced by epithelial cells in the lung, skin and colon, suggesting that IL-17C may be involved in not only host defense but also inflammatory diseases in those tissues. In support of that, IL-17C was demonstrated to contribute to development of T cell-dependent imiquimod-induced psoriatic dermatitis and T cell-independent dextran sodium sulfate-induced acute colitis using mice deficient in IL-17C and/or IL-17RE, which is a component of the receptor for IL-17C. However, the roles of IL-17C in other inflammatory diseases remain poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the contributions of IL-17C to development of certain disease models using Il17c-/- mice, which we newly generated. Those mice showed normal development of T cell-dependent inflammatory diseases such as FITC- and DNFB-induced contact dermatitis/contact hypersensitivity (CHS) and concanavalin A-induced hepatitis, and T cell-independent inflammatory diseases such as bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, papain-induced airway eosinophilia and LPS-induced airway neutrophilia. On the other hand, those mice were highly resistant to LPS-induced endotoxin shock, indicating that IL-17C is crucial for protection against that immunological reaction. Therefore, IL-17C neutralization may represent a novel therapeutic approach for sepsis, in addition to psoriasis and acute colitis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Colitis / therapy
  • Inflammation / etiology*
  • Inflammation / immunology
  • Interleukin-17 / immunology
  • Interleukin-17 / physiology*
  • Mice
  • Psoriasis / therapy
  • Sepsis / therapy
  • T-Lymphocytes / physiology*

Substances

  • Interleukin-17