Role of cytokines in the pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus

The physiological mechanism in systemic lupus erythematosus is not yet fully elucidated. It is currently known that it is a multifactorial autoimmune disease which includes genetic, environmental and immune factors. Over the years it has been reported that cytokines play a predominant role during the course of the disease. In this review some findings reported in recent years were reviewed and the most important cytokines in SLE were considered; and we analyzed how the levels of each cytokine have been found in patients and how each of them can contribute to the proposed mechanisms and the relationship with the disease, as well as their possible effects on the triggering and control of systemic lupus erythematosus. The aimed of this article is to provide a focused review of the current knowledge of cytokines in SLE.