Analysis of interleukin-18, interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE) and interleukin-18-related cytokines in Crohnís disease lesions.

INTRODUCTION Interleukin-18 (IL-18), a recently discovered cytokine [1, 2] is classified as a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines [3]. Like IL-1beta, the precursor form of IL-18 (proIL-18) lacks a signal peptide, and requires cleavage by the cysteine protease IL-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE/caspase-1) to produce the mature cytokine that is released from the cell [4, 5]. The 24 kDa proIL-18 form can be accumulated within the cell. This [...]