Table 1.

The main effects of the described cytokines.

Group	Action Molecules	Secreting Cells	Effector Cells	Effects
TNF Super Family	TNF-a	Macrophages, lymphoid cells, mast cells, endothelial cells, cardiac myocytes, adipose tissue, fibroblasts and neurons.	Macrophages, monocytes, B cells, T cells, NK cells, endothelial cells.	Stimulates phagocytosis, production of IL-1 oxidants and the inflammatory lipid prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) [151], IL-10 production, proliferation, Ig production, HLA-DR and CD25 expression, GM-CSF production [152], enhancement of cytotoxic activity, cell death, induction of pro-coagulant agents [153], adhesion molecules and pro-inflammatory cytokines [154].
Interferons	IFN-I	Fibroblasts and monocytes.	Natural killer cells and macrophages.	Activate immune cells, increase host defenses by up-regulating antigen presentation by virtue of increasing the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens [155].
	IFN-II	Adaptive immune cells, more specifically CD4+ T helper 1 (Th1) cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells.	Macrophages, B cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells.	Promote inflammation, antiviral or antibacterial activity, and cell proliferation and differentiation [156].
	IFN-III	Type 2 myeloid dendritic cells.	Epithelial cells, neutrophils, B cells and dendritic cells.	Modulate the immune response after a pathogen has been sensed in the organism, their functions are mostly anti-viral and anti-proliferative [157].
Chemokines	CC	Cells of innate and adaptive immunity.	T cells, eosinophils and basophils, monocytes, NK cells and dendritic cells.	Induces monocytes to leave the bloodstream and enter the surrounding tissue to become tissue macrophages, induce the migration of monocytes and other cell types such as NK cells and dendritic cells [158].
	CXC		Neutrophils, lymphocytes.	Induces the migration of neutrophils, activating their metabolic and degranulation [159], chemoattractant for lymphocytes [160].
	C		T cell, dendritic cells.	Involved in cross-presentation, antigen uptake, and induction of innate as well as adaptive cytotoxic immunity, to increate T cells in joints that are affected with rheumatoid arthritis [76].
	CX3C		T cell, monocytes, leukocytes.	Soluble, potently chemoattracts T cells and monocytes [77], cell-bound chemokine promotes strong adhesion of leukocytes to activated endothelial cells.
CSF	CSF1	Different types of cells.	Hematopoietic stem cells, monocytes, macrophages.	Causes hematopoietic stem cells to differentiate into macrophages or other related cell types [161].
	CSF2	Macrophages, T cells, mast cells, natural killer cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts.	Affects more cell types, especially macrophages and eosinophils.	Stimulates stem cells to produce granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils) and monocytes. Activates the maturation of monocytes and dendritic cells [152].
	CSF3	Endothelium, macrophages, and a number of other immune cells.	Precursor cells in the bone marrow, neutrophil precursors and mature neutrophils, hematopoietic stem cell.	Stimulates the bone marrow to produce granulocytes and stem cells and release them into the bloodstream, stimulates the survival, proliferation, differentiation, and function of neutrophil precursors and mature neutrophils.
TGF	TGFα	Macrophages, brain cells and keratinocytes.	Epithelial cells, neural cell.	Induces epithelial development, stimulates neural cell proliferation [162].
	TGFβ	All white blood cell lineages.	Macrophages, stem cell, T cell, B cell.	Plays crucial roles in tissue regeneration, cell differentiation [149], embryonic development and regulation of the immune system [163].
IL-1 family	IL-1β	Activated macrophages.	Different cell types.	Important mediator of the inflammatory response [164], and is involved in a variety of cellular activities [94], including cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis [53].
	IL-4	Mast cells, Th2 cells, eosinophils and basophils.	B cell and T cell, macrophages.	Induces differentiation of naive helper T cells (Th0 cells) to Th2 cells [165], promotes alternative activation of macrophages into M2 cells and inhibits classical activation of macrophages into M1 cells [166].
	IL-5	Type-2 T helper cells and mast cells.	B cell, eosinophils.	Stimulates B cell growth and increases immunoglobulin secretion, mediator in eosinophil activation.
	IL-6	Macrophages, osteoblasts, smooth muscle cells.	Neutrophils, B cells, T cells.	Stimulating acute phase protein synthesis [167], as well as the production of neutrophils in the bone marrow [168], it supports the growth of B cells and is antagonistic to regulatory T cells.
	IL-7	Stromal cells in the bone marrow and thymus, keratinocytes, dendritic cells, hepatocytes, neurons and epithelial cells.	B cells, T cells and NK cells.	Stimulates the differentiation of multipotent (pluripotent) hematopoietic stem cells into lymphoid progenitor cells [169], stimulates proliferation of all cells in the lymphoid lineage [170].
IL-8 is a member of the CXC family of chemokines	IL-8	Macrophages and other cell types.	Granulocytes.	Induces chemotaxis in target cells, primarily neutrophils, stimulates phagocytosis, promoter of angiogenesis [171].
	IL-10	Monocytes and, to a lesser extent, lymphocytes.	Th1, Macrophages, B cell.	It downregulates the expression of Th1 cytokines, MHC class II antigens, and co-stimulatory molecules on macrophages. It also enhances B cell survival, proliferation, and antibody production. IL-10 can block NF-κB activity, and is involved in the regulation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway [172].
IL-12 family	IL-12	Dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and human B- lymphoblastoid cells (NC-37).	T cells, NK cells.	Stimulates the growth and function of T cells [173], stimulates the production of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) from T cells and NK cells, and reduces IL-4 mediated suppression of IFN-γ, block the formation of new blood vessels [117].
	IL-13	Th2 cells, CD4 cells, natural killer T cell, mast cells, basophils, eosinophils and nuocytes.	Hematopoietic cells, B cell.	Regulator in IgE synthesis, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucus hypersecretion, airway hyperresponsiveness, fibrosis and chitinase up-regulation [174].
	IL-15	Mononuclear phagocytes.	NK cells, T cells.	Induces the proliferation of natural killer cells [175].
IL17 family	IL-17A	Activated T cells.	Th17.	Regulates the activities of NF-kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinases, stimulate the expression of IL6 and cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2/COX-2), as well as enhances the production of nitric oxide (NO).
	IL-22	Tissue cells, αβ T cells classes Th1, Th22 and Th17 along with γδ T cells, NKT, ILC3, neutrophils and macrophages.	Non-hematopoietic cells—mainly stromal and epithelial cells.	Stimulation of cell survival, proliferation and synthesis of antimicrobials [176].