INTERLEUKIN-1

inflammatory processes are controlled by a complex network of interacting regulatory elements including, but not limited to, antigen-specific components of the immune system, cytokines and growth factors, cognate cellular interactions, cell matrix interactions and non-peptide mediators such as prostaglandins. Among these elements, considerable interest has focussed on interleukin 1 (IL-1), to a large extent because this polypeptide mediator was identified early on as a highly pleiotropic molecule that can, by itself, elicit many of the responses associated with acute and chronic inflammatory disease. The advent of molecular biology and modern protein microchemistry has led to a rapid expansion of our understanding of the molecular basis of IL-1 action. At present three species of IL-1 and two types of cell surface IL-1 receptors have been identified and cloned. One of the three species of IL-1 appears to be a pure receptor antagonist. In this chapter the current status of our understanding of the molecular basis of IL-1 action is reviewed.