Review
Nature Reviews Immunology 3, 791-800 (October 2003) | doi:10.1038/nri1200
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor: a regulator of innate immunity
Thierry Calandra1 & Thierry Roger1 About the authors
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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Author affiliations
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Correspondence to: Thierry Calandra1 Email: Thierry.Calandra@hospvd.ch
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