The multifaceted nature of the cytokine IL-10
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After hearing about the ill-effects of the cytokine storm during covid infections, I began to think of cytokines as being unhealthy. This article explains that the cytokine IL-10 has different effects at different times in the infection.
Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has a fundamental role in modulating inflammation and in maintaining cell homeostasis. It primarily acts as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, protecting the body from an uncontrolled immune response, mostly through the Jak1/Tyk2 and STAT3 signaling pathway. On the other hand, IL-10 can also have immunostimulating functions under certain conditions. Given the pivotal role of IL-10 in immune modulation, this cytokine could have relevant implications in pathologies characterized by hyperinflammatory state, such as cancer, or infectious diseases as in the case of COVID-19 and Post-COVID-19 syndrome. Recent evidence proposed IL-10 as a predictor of severity and mortality for patients with acute or post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this context, IL-10 can act as an endogenous danger signal, released by tissues undergoing damage in an attempt to protect the organism from harmful hyperinflammation.
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@DavidPS Interesting IIRC L. Reuteri increases it and the testosterone increase was reliant on IL10 increase.
