Interleukin 1

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is one of the first cytokines ever described. Its initial discovery was as a factor that could induce fever, control lymphocytes, increase the number of bone marrow cells and cause degeneration of bone joints. At this time, IL-1 was known under several other names including endogenous pyrogen, lymphocyte activating factor, haemopoetin-1 and mononuclear cell factor, amongst others. It was around 1984-1985 when scientists confirmed that IL-1 was actually composed of two distinct proteins, now called IL-1α and IL-1β. These belong to a family of cytokines known as the interleukin-1 superfamily.

The Interleukin-1 superfamily
The original members of the IL-1 superfamily are IL-1α, IL-1β, and the IL-1 Receptor antagonist (IL-1RA).
 * IL-1α and -β are pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in immune defence against infection.
 * The IL-1RA is a molecule that competes for receptor binding with IL-1α and IL-1β, blocking their role in immune activation.

Recent years have seen the addition of other molecules to the IL-1 superfamily including IL-18 and six more genes with structural homology to IL-1α, IL-1β or IL-1RA. These latter six members are named, , , , , and. In accord, IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-1RA have been renamed IL-1F1, IL-1F2, and IL-1F3, respectively.

A further putative member of the IL-1 family has been recently described that is called IL-33 or IL-1F11, although this name is not officially accepted in the HGNC gene family nomenclature database.

IL-1α and IL-1β
Both IL-1α and IL-1β are produced by macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells. They form an important part of the inflammatory response of the body against infection. These cytokines increase the expression of adhesion factors on endothelial cells to enable transmigration of leukocytes, the cells that fight pathogens, to sites of infection and re-set the hypothalamus thermoregulatory center, leading to an increased body temperature which expresses itself as fever. IL-1 is therefore called an endogenous pyrogen. The increased body temperature helps the body's immune system to fight infection. IL-1 is also important in the regulation of hematopoiesis. IL-1β production in peripheral tissue has also been associated with hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain) associated with fever.

For the most part, these two forms of IL-1 bind to the same cellular receptor. This receptor is composed of two related, but non-identical, subunits that transmit intracellular signals via a pathway that is mostly shared with certain other receptors. These include the Toll family of innate immune receptors and the receptor for IL-18.

IL-1α is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in various immune responses, inflammatory processes, and hematopoiesis. This cytokine is produced by many cell types but is only secreted by monocytes and macrophages. It is produced as a proprotein, which is proteolytically processed by calpain and released in a mechanism that is still not well studied. This gene and eight other interleukin 1 family genes form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 2. It has been suggested that the polymorphism of these genes is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.

Structure of the IL-1 superfamily
IL-1α and IL-1β are produced as precursor peptides. In other words they are made as a long protein that is then processed to release a shorter, active molecule, which is called the mature protein. Mature IL-1β, for instance, is released from Pro-IL-1β following cleavage by a certain member of the caspase family of proteins, called caspase-1 or the interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE). The 3-dimensional structure of the mature forms of each member of the human IL-1 superfamily is composed of 12-14 β-strands producing a barrel-shaped protein.