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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
A proinflammatory role of IL-18 in the development of spontaneous autoimmune disease
E Esfandiari1, I B McInnes, G Lindop
1Department of Immunology and Bacteriology, Centre of Rheumatic Disease, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Serum from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contained significantly higher concentrations of IL-18 than normal individuals. MRL/lpr mice, which develop spontaneous lupus-like autoimmune disease, also had higher serum levels of IL-18 than wild-type MRL/++ mice. Daily injections of IL-18 or IL-18 plus IL-12 resulted in accelerated proteinuria, glomerulonephritis, vasculitis, and raised levels of proinflammatory cytokines in MRL/lpr mice. IL-18-treated MRL/lpr mice also developed a "butterfly" facial rash resembling clinical SLE. In contrast, MRL/lpr mice treated with IL-18 plus IL-12 did not develop a facial rash. The facial lesion in the IL-18-treated mice showed epidermal thickening with intense chronic inflammation accompanied by increased apoptosis, Ig deposition, and early systemic Th2 response compared with control or IL-12 plus IL-18-treated mice. These data therefore show that IL-18 is an important mediator of lupus-like disease and may thus be a novel target for therapeutic intervention of spontaneous autoimmune diseases.
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