Inflammatory And Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines And Neuronal Cell Death

Cytokines are a family of polypeptide mediators associated with the immune system and inflammation in the periphery. Despite the fact that the brain was often thought of as an immune privileged site, it is now well established that cytokines are involved in various neurodegenerative conditions. Cytokines are often categorised as either pro- or anti-inflammatory, however in the brain such distinctions may prove misleading. The role of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-a in neuronal death is far from clear, with both damaging and protective actions attributed to each of these cytokines. However, it is now well established that interleukin-l mediates neuronal death in experimentally induced brain injury in vivo, and that inhibiting the actions of interleukin-l will reduce ischaemic brain injury.