Lecture 6 and 7: Cytokine Processing and Activation Flashcards
(104 cards)
What do cytokines act as?
Intracellular messengers
What are cytokines
Structurally diverese polypeptides that function as messenger molecules
How do cytokines act as messenger molecules
- They communicate signals from one cell type to another
- Instruct the cell receiving the signal to proliferate, differentiate, secrete additional cytokines, migrate or die
How do cytokines signal
Via plasma membrane borne receptors
How do cytokines interact with their receptors
They bind with tight affinity and show high specificity
why are cytokines present at low concentrations
They have high affinity for their cognate rerceptors
What do cytokines switch on and off
Specific cellular effector funtions
what do cytokines initate
Differentiation from one cell state to another
How is cytokines switching on or off effector functions or initiating differentiation achieved
Initiating the transcription of a new cohort of genes within the cells, the products of which endow the cell with new or enhanced capabilities
What does IL-2 trigger
A transcriptional programme within T cells that enables cells to proliferate upon receipt of a signal
What does TNF induce
the trancriptional upregulation of over 50 different cytokines, chemokines, anti-bacterial proteins as well as other immune responses within responsive target cells
What does TNF trigger
Activation of neutrophils and local endothelium to upregulate integrins that facilitate extravasation of immune cells and plasma proteins (complement and acute phase) into tissues
What is one of the most important cytokine groupings
Interleukins
What does the interleukins contain
cytokines that act as communicators between leukocytes
Why are members of the interleukin family diverse
The membership is based on biology (evidence of activity on leukocytes) rather than sequence or structural homology
How many interleukins have been described to date
38
What other cytokines familes (other than interleukins) have been established based on
- support the proliferation of hematopoietic precursors (colony stimulating factors)
- cytotoxic activity towards transformed cell types (TNF)
- ability to interfere with viral replication (interferons)
What do cytokines frequently have
pleiotropic effects
What does the response of many cytokines depend on
the context in which the cytokine is delivered as well as the cell type receiving the signal
How would you describe the weight of cytokines
low weight (15-25kDa)
How are cytokines produced
In a transient manner tightly coupled to the presence of foreign material or tissue injury
What primes the mRNA of cytokines for rapid degradation
the AU rich sequences in the 3’ untranslated regions
Unlike endocrine hormones, the majority of cytokines normally act in what type of fashion
They act locally in a paracrine or even autocrine fashion
What do cytokines derived from lymphocytes rarely do
Persist in the circulation