Everything You Need To Know about Cytokine, its Discovery and Various Uses

 

Cytokine

Small proteins that range in size from 5 to 25 kDa are known as Cytokines, and they are crucial for cell signalling. Peptides like cytokines are unable to penetrate the lipid bilayer of cells to reach the cytoplasm. As immunomodulating agents, cytokines have been demonstrated to participate in autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine signalling.

Interferons, interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour necrosis factors are examples of Cytokine, but hormones and growth factors are typically not included (despite some overlap in the terminology). A wide variety of cells, including as immune cells like macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and other stromal cells, create cytokines; a given cytokine may be produced by more than one type of cell.

Cytokine play a crucial role in the immune system because they govern the balance between humoral and cell-based immune responses as well as the maturation, development, and responsiveness of certain cell populations. They work through cell surface receptors. The actions of some cytokines can be complicatedly increased or decreased by other cytokines. They are distinct from hormones, significant cell signalling chemicals as well. Hormones tend to be produced by particular types of cells and circulate at higher concentrations. The host immunological responses to infection, inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction depend on cytokines in both health and illness. The word is derived from the Greek language: cyto, from the Greek letters kytos, meaning "cavity, cell," and kines, from the Greek letters v, kinsis, meaning "movement."

 A protein known as interferon-alpha, a type I interferon, was discovered to prevent viral replication in 1957. The only interferon type II member, interferon-gamma, was the first recognised lymphocyte-derived mediator whose activity was characterised in 1965. The term "macrophage migration inhibitory factor" (MIF) was first coined by John David and Barry Bloom at the same time in 1966.

 Proteins secreted by lymphocytes were first referred to as "lymphokines" by Dudley Dumonde in 1969. Later, macrophage and monocyte-derived proteins were referred to as "monokines" when they were produced in culture. The creation of MIF in virus-infected allantoic membrane and kidney cells was described in a 1974 study by pathologist Stanley Cohen, M.D. (not to be confused with the Nobel winner). This demonstrated that MIF production is not only found in immune cells. His suggestion of the word "cytokine" resulted from this. Early acting, intermediate-acting, and late acting growth factors were all described by Ogawa.

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