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Review
. 2021 Jun;25(12):5351-5357.
doi: 10.1111/jcmm.16566. Epub 2021 May 4.

Emerging role of interleukin-13 in cardiovascular diseases: A ray of hope

Ningjing Qian  1   2 , Ying Gao  1   2 , Jian'an Wang  1   2 , Yaping Wang  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Emerging role of interleukin-13 in cardiovascular diseases: A ray of hope

Ningjing Qian et al. J Cell Mol Med. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Despite the great progress made in the treatment for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the morbidity and mortality of CVDs remains high due to the lack of effective treatment strategy. Inflammation is a central pathophysiological feature of the heart in response to both acute and chronic injury, while the molecular basis and underlying mechanisms remains obscure. Interleukin (IL)-13, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been known as a critical mediator in allergy and asthma. Recent studies appraise the role of IL-13 in CVDs, revealing that IL-13 is not only involved in more obvious cardiac inflammatory diseases such as myocarditis but also relevant to acute or chronic CVDs of other origins, such as myocardial infarction and heart failure. The goal of this review is to summarize the advancement in our knowledge of the regulations and functions of IL-13 in CVDs and to discuss the possible mechanisms of IL-13 involved in CVDs. We highlight that IL-13 may be a promising target for immunotherapy in CVDs.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; immunotherapy; inflammation; interleukin-13.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The three‐dimensional structure of IL‐13, IL‐13Rα1and IL‐13Rα2. SWISS‐MODEL (www.swissmodel.org) was used to view the graphic. IL‐13, interleukin‐13; IL‐13R, interleukin‐13 receptor
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The function and mechanism of IL‐13 in cardiovascular diseases. IFN, interferon; IL‐13, interleukin‐13; STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription; TGF, transforming growth factor; TIMP, transforming growth factor
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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