Progranulin as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Immune-Mediated Diseases

Yue-Jiao Lan; Napoleon Bellua Sam; Ming-Han Cheng; Hai-Feng Pan; Jian Gao

doi:10.2147/JIR.S339254

Progranulin as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Immune-Mediated Diseases

J Inflamm Res. 2021 Dec 4:14:6543-6556. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S339254. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yue-Jiao Lan^{1

2}, Napoleon Bellua Sam³, Ming-Han Cheng¹, Hai-Feng Pan^{4

5}, Jian Gao¹

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
² The Second Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Medical Research and Innovation, School of Medicine, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Progranulin (PGRN), a secretory glycoprotein consisting of 593 amino acid residues, is a key actor and regulator of multiple system functions such as innate immune response and inflammation, as well as tissue regeneration. Recently, there is emerging evidence that PGRN is protective in the development of a variety of immune-mediated diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and multiple sclerosis (MS) by regulating signaling pathways known to be critical for immunology, particularly the tumor necrosis factor alpha/TNF receptor (TNF-α/TNFR) signaling pathway. Whereas, the role of PGRN in psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) is controversial. This review summarizes the immunological functions of PGRN and its role in the pathogenesis of several immune-mediated diseases, in order to provide new ideas for developing therapeutic strategies for these diseases.

Keywords: PGRN; TNF-α; TNFR; immune-mediated diseases; therapeutic.

Publication types

Review