Interleukin 10: Is it good or bad for the kidney?

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a cytokine which has been suggested as a possible immunosuppressive treatment for kidney disease. The ability of IL-10 to su ppress antigen presentation to T cells, inhibit the delayed-type hypersensi tivity reaction and to inhibit macrophage production of pro-inflammatory cy tokines provides a logical basis for its use in the treatment of kidney dis ease. With the exception of Th1-mediated crescentic glomerulonephritis, how ever, IL-10 treatment of experimental kidney disease has produced disappoin ting results largely due to its stimulatory effects upon the humoral immune response, macrophage Fc-receptor expression and macrophage proliferation. Paradoxically, there is now evidence to suggest that endogenous production of IL-10 within the kidney may actually contribute to kidney damage through stimulating mesangial proliferation, immune complex deposition and macroph age infiltration. We await the outcome of studies designed to block IL-10 f unction in experimental disease models.