Identification of a truncated IL-18Rβ mRNA: A putative regulator of IL-18 expressed in rat brain

Ralph Andre, Rachel D. Wheeler, Peter D. Collins, Giamal N. Luheshi, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Ian Kimber, Nancy J. Rothwell, Emmanuel Pinteaux

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-18, a member of the IL-1 family, is a key mediator of peripheral inflammation and host defense responses, and has been implicated in inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases in the brain. IL-18 acts via a receptor complex that closely resembles that of IL-1, consisting of a ligand binding protein, IL-18Rα, and an accessory protein, IL-18Rβ. Here, we describe the presence of a splice variant of IL-18Rβ that is predicted to encode a truncated soluble protein, consisting of only the first immunoglobulin-like domain of IL-18Rβ (EMBL/Genbank accession number AJ550893). Both forms of IL-18Rβ were expressed in rat cortex, striatum, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and also liver, and were detected in pure cultures of microglia, astrocytes and neurons. This novel splice variant is up-regulated rapidly in microglial cells by bacterial lipopolyssacharide (LPS). We propose that this putative truncated form of IL-18Rβ is analogous to the soluble form of IL-1R accessory protein, and could act as an important regulator of IL-18 actions. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)40-45
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of neuroimmunology
Volume145
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2003

Keywords

  • Cytokine receptors
  • EAE
  • IL-18
  • Interleukins

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