General reviews
Cytokines and their role in pathology of Lupus Erithematosus
Systemic lupus erithematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multi-system autoimmune disease with multiple immunological abnormalities and a wide range of clinical manifestations. Several defects of multiple immunological components play a role in the pathogenesys of SLE, cytokines being also key players in this pathogeny. They are not only involved in immune disregulation in SLE but also in the local inflammatory response wich ultimately leads to tissue injury. The knowledge of cytokines provide new insight into pathogenesys of SLE, certain cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-2, Type 1 IFN, TNF-α) being able to serve as biomarkers in disease activity monitoring and severity of the disease prediction.
In addition the manipulation of 
these cytokines may become potential therapeutic targets for SLE treatment.