TY - JOUR T1 - Cytokines in Autoimmune Liver Diseases AU - , Pietro Invernizzi AU - , Ilaria Bianchi AU - , Francesca Bernuzzi AU - , Lisa Caliari AU - , Massimo Locati JO - Research Journal of Medical Sciences VL - 2 IS - 3 SP - 145 EP - 154 PY - 2008 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1815-9346 DO - rjmsci.2008.145.154 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjmsci.2008.145.154 KW - Cytokines KW -autoimmuine KW -liver diseases KW -chemokines AB - Constitutive production of cytokines is absent or minimal in the normal liver but, in response to various types of injury, hepatocyte and cholangiocyte damage causes the local recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages that produce cytokines and chemokines and the former mediate the inflammatory response that leads to the regeneration of the liver tissue and ultimately, to the deposition of extracellular matrix by activated stellate cells. Cytokine production can have both beneficial and harmful effects, depending on the amount and duration of cytokine release. Within the spectrum of chronic liver diseases, cytokines play a pivotal role in the loss of immune tolerance characterizing chronic autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. This study will provide a general overview on cytokines and focus on their role in initiating and driving the inflammatory infiltrate in autoimmune liver diseases. A better understanding of this process might allow therapeutic interventions to switch off the peculiar inflammatory response which occurs in these conditions before irreversible damage occurs. ER -