Cytokines: Overview

Cytokines are involved in a number of physiologic and pathophysiologic proc esses in the liver. These small molecules impact hepatic growth and repair regulate inflammation, and influence fibrogenesis. Cytokines acting within the fiver derive from both resident and recruited cells; the pattern of cyt okines produced in a given clinical situation depends upon the inciting sti mulus and the background cellular milieu. Experimental animals display inhe rited differences in cytokine responses to environmental insults. If these differences are operative in human beings, they may account in part for var iations in susceptibility among individuals or groups to certain types of l iver disease.