Table 1.

Some of the important cytokines/chemokines reported in inflammatory myopathies

Cytokines/Chemokines	Potential role	References
IL-1α/IL1-β	Pro-inflammatory and probably myofibrillar protein break down	[34-36]
TNF-α	Chemo-attractant	[37]
TGF-β	Pro-fibrotic	[39]
IL-17	IL-6 production and HLA class I in muscle cells	[40,41]
IL-151	T-cell activation, development of NK cells and NK-T-cells	[51]
Type 1 interferons (IFN-α, IFN-β)	Enhance type 1 interferon inducible transcripts (ISG15, MX1, IFIT3 and IRF7)	[42-44]
Leukotriene B4	Chemo-attractant	[45]
Macrophage inflammatory proteins (1α, 1β)	Contribute to ongoing muscle inflammation	[46]
RANTES2	Chemo-attractant	[46]
Resistin/Adipocyte secreted factor	Pro-inflammatory, probably involved in metabolic dysregulation	[47-49]
TWEAK3	Impairs muscle differentiation and myogenesis	[50]

¹IL-15 and IL-6 are also called myokines.

²RANTES: Regulated on activation, normally T expressed and secreted.

³TWEAK: Tumor necrosis factor like weak inducer of apoptosis.