Clinical Significance
Apart from its physiological role, IL-18 is also able to induce severe inflammatory reactions, which suggests its role in certain inflammatory disorders.
Endometrial IL-18 receptor mRNA and the ratio of IL-18 binding protein to interleukin 18 are significantly increased in adenomyosis patients in comparison to normal people, indicating a role in its pathogenesis.
IL-18 has been implicated as an inflammatory mediator of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the most common cause of autoimmune hypothyroidism. IL-18 is up regulated by interferon-gamma.
IL-18 has also been found to increase the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid-beta production in human neuron cells
Read more about this topic: Interleukin 18
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