Interleukin (IL)-36 is a family of cytokines that belongs to the larger IL-1 superfamily. IL-36 agonist/antagonist binds to the interleukin-36 receptor involving in physiological inflammation regulation and pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases. In inflammatory joint diseases, the expression of IL-36 changes, and some studies have initially explored the role of IL-36 in these diseases. In psoriatic arthritis, IL-36 signal mediates plasma cell and fibroblast-like synoviocyte crosstalk presenting IL-36 agonist/antagonist imbalance. In rheumatoid arthritis, IL-36 agonists induce fibroblast-like synoviocyte to produce pro-inflammatory factors, while IL-36 antagonist deficiency leads to lesion progression. In osteoarthritis, IL-36 agonists induce chondrocytes to produce catabolic enzymes and pro-inflammatory factors. This article reviews the expression and function of IL-36 in different inflammatory joint diseases to provide a reference for revealing their pathogenic mechanisms and discovering therapeutic targets.
Humans ; Interleukins ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Osteoarthritis/pathology* ; Arthritis, Psoriatic/metabolism* ; Cytokines

Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is becoming an epidemic and thereby a global health problem. Further, VDD adversely affects calcium metabolism and skeletal health, and is associated with increased risk of several diseases, e.g., autoimmune diseases, several types of cancers, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, asthma, psoriatic arthritis, and etc. To evaluate the prevalence of VDD in Korea, and then to evaluate the association of several factors with serum 25(OH)D level, the author analyzed the data of 14,456 individuals who were 10 years of age and over from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1 & 2 (KNHANES V-1 & 2) conducted by the Korean Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. As a result, among Koreans (age >== 10years), 65.9% of males and 77.7% of females were below optimum blood serum 25(OH)D (20 ng/mL). VDD is more severe in female than in male at all age groups. In addition, the younger generations had less 25(OH)D level than older generations in Korea. The analysis by complex sample general linear model (CSGLM) suggested that blood 25(OH)D concentration was related with gender (p < .001), residence (p = .030), occupation (p < .001), anemia (p < .001) and physical activity (p < .001). In conclusion, VDD is pandemic and it is more severe in younger generations in Korea. Further, from the results by CSGLM, serum 25(OH)D status is closely related with the life style of Koreans.
Anemia ; Arthritis, Psoriatic ; Asthma ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Calcium ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Life Style ; Linear Models ; Male ; Metabolism ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupations ; Pandemics ; Prevalence* ; Serum ; Vitamin D Deficiency* ; Vitamin D* ; Vitamins*