Interleukin-17: Functional and Structural Features, Application as a Therapeutic Target

Cytokines of the IL-17 family play a key role in the host organism defense against bacterial and fungal infections. At the same time, upregulated synthesis of IL-17 cytokines is associated with immunoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and others. The members of this family are important therapeutic targets in the treatment of various human chronic inflammatory disorders. Elucidation of signaling pathways involving IL-17 family proteins and analysis of the structure of cytokine complexes with specific antibodies, inhibitors, and receptors are essential for the development of new drugs for the therapy of immunoinflammatory rheumatic diseases.