Cytokines IL-18 and IL-22 Exhibits Potential in Preventing and Treating Rotavirus and Other Viral Infections, Study Suggests

Nov, 2020 - By SMI

According to a new study led by the researchers Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have reported that amalgamation of two substances exuded by the immune system have the potential to cure and aids in preventing rotavirus infection and other viral infections targeting epithelial cells that have presence in blood vessels, skin, urinary tract, and other organs in the body.

Moreover, rotavirus can be defined as a RNA virus that majorly infects intestinal epithelial cells which further results in severe diarrhea in young children and moderate gastrointestinal distress in adults. In adult according to relevant sources it is found that several deaths in children are reported annually due to rotavirus especially in developing economies, where rotavirus vaccines are only moderately effective.

Researchers noted that cytokines, interleukin 18 (IL-18) and interleukin 22 (IL-22) are the substances that identified in the study and evaluated how these cytokines constrain rotavirus infection in mice models, when they were treated with both IL-18 and IL-22, the cytokines stimulated each other's expression, but also hindered rotavirus that were engaged in activating receptors in the intestinal epithelial cells. Moreover, cytokines efficiency was also observed for norovirus, a transmissible virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

Andrew Gewirtz, senior author stated, “Our study reports a novel means of eradicating a viral infection, particularly viruses that infect epithelial cells. The results suggest that a cocktail that combines IL-18 and IL-22 could be a means of treating viral infections that target short-lived epithelial cells with high turnover rates.”