The Role of the Interleukin-1 Family in Complications of Prematurity

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 3; p. 2795
• Main Authors: Green, Elys A, Garrick, Steven P, Peterson, Briana, Berger, Philip J, Galinsky, Robert, Hunt, Rod W, Cho, Steven X, Bourke, Jane E, Nold, Marcel F, Nold-Petry, Claudia A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Brain injury; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - drug therapy; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - etiology; cerebral palsy; Cytokines; Dendritic cells; Dysplasia; Enterocolitis; Female; Gastrointestinal diseases; Humans; Hypertension; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - drug therapy; Infant, Premature; Inflammation; Inflammation - complications; Inflammation - drug therapy; Inflammatory diseases; Interleukin 1; Kinases; Morbidity; Necrosis; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Neonates; Pathophysiology; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; prematurity; Proteins; pulmonary hypertension; Retinopathy; Retinopathy of Prematurity - drug therapy; Review; Sepsis; Signal transduction; Substantia alba; Therapeutic targets; white matter injury; United States > US; IL-1Ra; prematurity; IL-1; pulmonary hypertension; IL-38; IL-37; IL-36; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; IL-33; retinopathy of prematurity; necrotizing enterocolitis; IL-36Ra; inflammation; IL-18; cerebral palsy; sepsis; white matter injury
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032795

Preterm birth is a major contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Complications of prematurity such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD, affecting the lung), pulmonary hypertension associated with BPD (BPD-PH, heart), white matter injury (WMI, brain), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, eyes), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC, gut) and sepsis are among the major causes of long-term morbidity in infants born prematurely. Though the origins are multifactorial, inflammation and in particular the imbalance of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators is now recognized as a key driver of the pathophysiology underlying these illnesses. Here, we review the involvement of the interleukin (IL)-1 family in perinatal inflammation and its clinical implications, with a focus on the potential of these cytokines as therapeutic targets for the development of safe and effective treatments for early life inflammatory diseases.