Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30062695›Full record

ReviewCell proliferation2018

Critical role of inflammatory mast cell in fibrosis: Potential therapeutic effect of IL-37.

P Conti, Al Caraffa, F Mastrangelo, L Tettamanti, G Ronconi, I Frydas, S K Kritas, T C Theoharides

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Cell proliferation, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. The Immune Microenvironment: New Therapeutic Implications in Organ Fibrosis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. LangerinClinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2025
    Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Impact of TNF and IL-33 Cytokines on Mast Cells in Neuroinflammation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

P ContiPostgraduate Medical School, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9475-4924
Al CaraffaDepartment of Pharmacy, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
F MastrangeloDepartment of Medical Science and Biotechnology, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
L TettamantiDepartment of Medical and Morphological Science, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
G RonconiUOS Clinica dei Pazienti del Territorio, Policlinico Gemelli, Rome, Italy.
I FrydasFaculty of Parasitology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.
S K KritasDepartment of Microbiology, University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
T C TheoharidesDepartment of Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology, Molecular Immunopharmacology and Drug Discovery Laboratory, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · GRAgostino Gemelli University Polyclinic · ITTufts University · USUniversity of Chieti-Pescara · ITUniversity of Foggia · ITUniversity of Insubria · ITUniversity of Perugia · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFibrosis involves the activation of inflammatory cells, leading to a decrease in physiological function of the affected organ or tissue.

aimsTo update and synthesize relevant information concerning fibrosis into a new hypothesis to explain the pathogenesis of fibrosis and propose potential novel therapeutic approaches. MATERIALS AND

methodsLiterature was reviewed and relevant information is discussed in the context of the pathogenesis of fibrosis.

resultsA number of cytokines and their mRNA are involved in the circulatory system and in organs of patients with fibrotic tissues. The profibrotic cytokines are generated by several activated immune cells, including fibroblasts and mast cells (MCs), which are important for tissue inflammatory responses to different types of injury. MC-derived TNF, IL-1, and IL-33 contribute crucially to the initiation of a cascade of the host defence mechanism(s), leading to the fibrosis process. Inhibition of TNF and inflammatory cytokines may slow the progression of fibrosis and improve the pathological status of the affected subject. IL-37 is generated by various types of immune cells and is an IL-1 family member protein. IL-37 is not a receptor antagonist; it binds IL-18 receptor alpha (IL-18Rα) and delivers the inhibitory signal by using TIR8. It has been shown that IL-37 can be protective in inflammation and injury, and inhibits both innate and adaptive immunity. DISCUSSION: IL-37 may be useful for suppression of inflammatory diseases induced by inhibiting MyD88-dependent TLR signalling. In addition, IL-37 downregulates NF-κB induced by TLR2 or TLR4 through a mechanism dependent on IL-18Rα.

conclusionThis review summarizes current knowledge on the role of MC in inflammation and tissue/organ fibrosis, with a focus on the therapeutic potential of IL-37-targeting cytokines.

Indexed as

AnimalsFibroblastsFibrosisHumansInflammationInterleukin-1Mast CellsInterleukin-1cytokinefibrosisIL-37immunitymast cells

Identifiers

PMID30062695
PMCPMC6528914
OpenAlexW2886658940

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.