著者

四釜 洋介 黒澤 実愛 松下 健二

出版者

一般社団法人 日本エンドトキシン・自然免疫研究会

雑誌

エンドトキシン・自然免疫研究 (ISSN:24341177)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.22, pp.40-42, 2019 (Released:2019-11-06)

参考文献数

9

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Interleukin (IL) -29 is a cytokine belonging to the type Ⅲ interferon family, which regulates a similar set of genes as type Ⅰ interferons. Although type Ⅰ interferons act globally, type Ⅲ interferons primarily target epithelial cells and protect them against the frequent viral attacks that are common for barrier tissues. The antiviral effects of IL-29 have been demonstrated at barrier surfaces in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, liver, blood-brain barrier, and skin, but it remains unknown whether IL-29 exhibits these effects in oral epithelial cells. In this study, we found that the functional IL-29 receptor, interferon-lambda receptor 1, is expressed in epithelial cells from both human oral mucosa and gingiva, but not in human gingival fibroblasts. Although IL-29 stimulation did not induce pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression, such as IL-6 and IL-8, it did induce retinoic acid-inducible gene (RIG) -I and interferon gamma-inducible protein 16 (IFI-16) production via a signal transducers and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) -dependent pathway in gingival epithelial cells. RIG-I and IFI-16 sense viral nucleic acids, and the stimulation of these receptors induces interferon beta production. Moreover, we confirmed that the augmenting effects of IL-29 on 5’triphosphate double-stranded RNA (a synthetic ligand for RIG-I) -induced interferon beta production in gingival epithelial cells. These data suggest the therapeutic potential of IL-29 for preventing viral infections in the oral mucosa.