1. Academic Validation
  2. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor: a regulator of innate immunity

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor: a regulator of innate immunity

  • Nat Rev Immunol. 2003 Oct;3(10):791-800. doi: 10.1038/nri1200.
Thierry Calandra 1 Thierry Roger
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Thierry.Calandra@hospvd.ch
Abstract

For more than a quarter of a century, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been a mysterious cytokine. In recent years, MIF has assumed an important role as a pivotal regulator of innate immunity. MIF is an integral component of the host antimicrobial alarm system and stress response that promotes the pro-inflammatory functions of immune cells. A rapidly increasing amount of literature indicates that MIF is implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, suggesting that MIF-directed therapies might offer new treatment opportunities for human diseases in the future.

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