Back

IL-38 limits alloreactivity through modulating myeloid and T cell activation

Kiprina, A.; Xu, W.; Macinkovic, I.; Boeffinger, N.; Namgaladze, D.; Elewa, M. A. F.; Jacomin, A.-C.; Kur, I. M.; Aliraj, B.; Imkeller, K.; Bruene, B.; Weigert, A.

2026-06-22 immunology
10.64898/2026.06.19.728400 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Interleukin-38 (IL-38) is a cytokine of the IL-1 cytokine family that promotes the resolution of inflammation. Resolution mechanisms comprise the induction or recovery of immune tolerance that is lacking in various acute and chronic inflammatory pathologies, including Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD). The role of IL-38 in the context of immune tolerance, its primary immune cell targets and underlying molecular mechanisms are not defined. In this study, we investigated the impact of IL-38 on human alloreactivity and in a mouse model of acute GvHD. Our data suggests that monocytes differentiating into macrophages are the main cellular target of IL-38. Specifically, IL-38 reduces antigen presentation capacity in differentiating monocytes through an IL-1 family receptor-independent mechanism, which subsequently avoids T-cell activation. In parallel, IL-38 ameliorates inflammation in allogeneic settings in human and murine GvHD models by promoting the expansion of regulatory T-cells. Our findings indicate that IL-38 promotes immune tolerance during alloreactivity by affecting myeloid cells and T-cells.

Matching journals

The top 4 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

1
Frontiers in Immunology
638 papers in training set
Top 0.2%
26.7%
2
The Journal of Immunology
166 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
15.1%
3
Journal of Leukocyte Biology
42 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
5.5%
4
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
75 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
4.9%
50% of probability mass above
5
Scientific Reports
3612 papers in training set
Top 33%
3.3%
6
PLOS ONE
5266 papers in training set
Top 37%
3.2%
7
eLife
5828 papers in training set
Top 35%
3.2%
8
Cell Death & Disease
21 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
2.8%
9
Mucosal Immunology
47 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
2.7%
10
Cell Reports
1498 papers in training set
Top 17%
2.1%
11
European Journal of Immunology
60 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
1.7%
12
Nature Communications
5641 papers in training set
Top 47%
1.5%
13
Discovery Immunology
11 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
1.5%
14
JCI Insight
277 papers in training set
Top 5%
1.5%
15
EMBO Reports
263 papers in training set
Top 5%
1.3%
16
Immunology
28 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
1.1%
17
ImmunoHorizons
24 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
1.1%
18
Journal of Experimental Medicine
119 papers in training set
Top 2%
1.1%
19
Cell Communication and Signaling
51 papers in training set
Top 1%
1.0%
20
PLOS Pathogens
820 papers in training set
Top 8%
1.0%
21
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2444 papers in training set
Top 38%
1.0%
22
Immunity, Inflammation and Disease
10 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
0.8%
23
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
494 papers in training set
Top 15%
0.8%
24
iScience
1154 papers in training set
Top 39%
0.6%
25
Cytotherapy
15 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
0.6%