Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[hutschi]

From top to bottom: midkine and pleiotrophin as emerging players in immune regulation.

Sorrelle N1, Dominguez ATA1, Brekken RA2,3.

Author information

1Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; and.Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; and [e-mail] of Surgical Oncology, Departments of Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Abstract

Cytokines are pivotal in the generation and resolution of the inflammatory response. The midkine/pleiotrophin (MK/PTN) family of cytokines, composed of just two members, was discovered as heparin-binding neurite outgrowth-promoting factors. Since their discovery, expression of this cytokine family has been reported in a wide array of inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this minireview, we will discuss the emerging appreciation of the functions of the MK/PTN family in the immune system, which include promoting lymphocyte survival, sculpting myeloid cell phenotype, driving immune cell chemotaxis, and maintaining hematopoiesis.

© Society for Leukocyte Biology.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28356350