Health / Medical Topics |
IL1R Signaling Pathway
Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that signals primarily through the type 1 IL-1 receptor (IL-1R1). The activities of IL-1 include induction of fever, expression of vascular adhesion molecules, and roles in arthritis and septic shock. The inflammatory activities of IL-1 are partially derived by transcriptionally inducing expression of cytokines such as TNF-alpha and interferons, as well as inducing the expression of other inflammation-related genes. There are two forms of IL-1 encoded by distinct genes, IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta. IL-1 beta is produced as a 269 amino acid precursor that is cleaved by IL-1beta converting enzyme (ICE) to the active IL-1 beta form that is secreted. IL-1 signaling is opposed by the naturally occurring peptide IL-1 receptor antagonist which is a therapeutic agent for the treatment of arthritis. The type 1 IL-1 receptor protein binds IL-1 beta but requires the IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP) to transduce a signal. IL-1 binding causes activation of two kinases, IRAK-1 and IRAK-2, associated with the IL-1 receptor complex. IRAK-1 (IL-1 Receptor Associated Kinase) activates and recruits TRAF6 to the IL-1 receptor complex. TRAF6 activates two pathways, one leading to NF-kB activation and another leading to c-jun activation. The TRAF associated protein ECSIT leads to c-Jun activation through the Map kinase/JNK signaling system. TRAF6 also signals through the TAB1/TAK1 kinases to trigger the degradation of I-kB, and activation of NF-kB. The IL-1 signaling cascade represents a highly conserved response to pathogens through evolution, with homologs in insects and even in plants. The signal transduction cascade utilized by IL-1 receptor is similar to that of TNF, resulting in NF-kB activation, and is most similar to that of the Toll-like receptors that also participate in inflammatory signaling responses to pathogen components like endotoxin (see Toll-like receptor pathway). (NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)