{"id":70972,"date":"2026-04-09T12:45:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/?post_type=hdsn_news_post&p=70972"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:45:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:45:48","slug":"cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Cytokine structure shown to be key to controlling numerous diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a comprehensive review published in Nature Reviews Immunology<\/em><\/a>, one of the most respected scientific journals, our team synthesised emerging insights into how cytokines are regulated through their structural assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cytokines are small signalling proteins released by immune cells that act as messengers, allowing cells to communicate. They coordinate immune responses, tissue repair and many other biological processes. Because cytokines can act on many different cell types and trigger diverse responses, their activity must be tightly controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such regulation occurs at multiple levels, including the quantities of cytokines that are produced, how they are modified post-synthesis and how they engage receptors on their target cells. Breakdown of this regulation can lead to disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excessive cytokine activity can drive chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders, while insufficient signalling can weaken the body\u2019s ability to fight infections or cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, cytokines are already important therapeutic targets in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. However, current approaches often lack precision and can cause unwanted side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More precise cytokine regulation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this work, Dr Ina Rudloff <\/a>and a team from Hudson Institute of Medical Research examined an increasingly recognised mechanism of cytokine regulation known as multimerisation, i.e. the ability of cytokines to assemble into pairs or larger molecular complexes. These include homodimers (two identical molecules), heterodimers (two different molecules) and higher-order multimers.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Interleukin-37<\/a>
Interleukin-37 can pair with itself to form a homodimer that dampens its own anti-inflammatory bioactivity. By preventing this homodimer, we uncovered a natural “brake” on cytokine activity and a new path to boost its therapeutic potential.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cBy synthesising findings from across multiple cytokine families, we show that these structural arrangements fundamentally influence cytokine bioactivities,\u201d Dr Rudloff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, some cytokines such as interleukin-10 and interferon-g must form homodimers for full bioactivity. In contrast, interleukin-6, which is usually active as a discrete monomer, can form dimers that alter how it signals and reduce its ability to activate receptors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur own work demonstrated that homodimer formation of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin\u201137 limits its activity, i.e. acts as a natural \u2018brake\u2019. Preventing this dimerisation enhances IL-37\u2019s anti-inflammatory functions, highlighting how structural assembly can directly control biological outcomes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Biological outcomes depend on cytokine structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This review was jointly supervised by senior authors Professors Marcel<\/a> and Claudia Nold<\/a> from Hudson Institute and Monash University, and Associate Professor Andrew Ellisdon<\/a> from Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They said these examples illustrate that the same cytokine can exert different effects depending on its structural state, adding an additional layer of regulation to signalling pathways that can affect almost any biochemical process in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy bringing together structural, biological and translational insights, our review highlights how understanding cytokine multimerisation opens up new opportunities to improve cytokine-based therapies,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDesigning cytokines in specific structural forms, for example stabilising active configurations or preventing inhibitory ones, may allow fine-tuning of pathway regulation with greater precision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This emerging approach, often referred to as cytokine engineering, has the potential to enable safer and more effective treatments across a wide range of immune-mediated diseases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a comprehensive review published in Nature Reviews Immunology, one of the most respected scientific journals, our team synthesised emerging insights into how cytokines are regulated through their structural assembly. Cytokines are small signalling proteins released by immune cells that act as messengers, allowing cells to communicate. They coordinate immune responses, tissue repair and many other…  Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":70973,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue":[],"tag":[],"story-type":[],"treatment-type":[],"class_list":["post-70972","hdsn_news_post","type-hdsn_news_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCytokine structure shown to be key to controlling numerous diseases - Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The recent review in Nature Reviews Immunology, highlights the growing potential of cytokine engineering as a new generation of immunotherapy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cytokine structure shown to be key to controlling numerous diseases\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The recent review in Nature Reviews Immunology, highlights the growing potential of cytokine engineering as a new generation of immunotherapy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T02:45:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ina-claudia-marcel-nold-sq.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/cytokine-structure-shown-to-be-key-to-controlling-numerous-diseases\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cytokine structure shown to be key to controlling numerous diseases - 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