Interleukin-18 Signaling Pathway Promotes Activation of Hepatic Stellate Cells in Mouse Liver Fibrosis
The cytokine interleukin 18 (IL-18) was originally described as an interferon gamma (IFNγ) – inducible pro-inflammatory factor in septic shock models, which stimulates T-cell proliferation. Like IL-1β, IL-18 belongs to the IL-1 superfamily and is synthesized as a biologically active 24-kDa precursor protein (pro-IL-18) that lacks the signal peptide required for secretion. An intracellular cysteine […]