It is a type of protein and peptide that is responsible for regulating the cells that give rise to it, in addition to this, thanks to them, cellular communication occurs, they can be produced by any cell if it is stimulated correctly, the main producers of cytokines are macrophages and T lymphocytes, apart from that, they are involved in tissue repair and cell fibrosis.
Cytokines are particles whose molecular weight is low, they are of great importance in vital functions such as cell maturation and differentiation, also in hematopoiesis, tissue repair, among others. They have the ability to establish communication between one cell and another, they have an important role in cell movement, differentiation, proliferation and death.
To date , more than 100 peptides considered as cytokines are known, each and every one being different both in structure and genetics, their effect is far-reaching and they act by binding to the cell surface through receptors, depending on the type. The cell that produces it can vary its name, for example, the cytokine produced by macrophages is called monocin, while that produced by lymphocytes is called lymphokine.
Cytokines are classified according to the place or stage of the immune response in which it is found acting in four types:
Cytokines that have extra-immunological and homeostatic function, they act by forming chains, in processes such as hematopoiesis, bone remodeling, they also act in embryonic development. These in turn are classified according to their functional position into three types, those that act in multilinear cells, those that carry out their effect in already established cell lines and those that do not cause an effect on their own, but may act in others. cytokines.
Cytokines that act in inflammatory reactions: they are those that act in the specific immune response, in addition to stimulating cellular immunity, some examples of them are interleukins 1, 8 and interleukin 12.
Cytokines in humoral immunity: it is responsible for the production of antibody through b lymphocytes, examples of these cytokines are interleukins 4, 5, 6, 10 and 13.
Cytokines in the development of cellular immunity: the main cytokines that act in this process are interferon gamma and interleukin 2.
