Definition of "interleukin-1" [interleukin-1]

• Either of two proteins, released by macrophages and other cells, that induce the production of interleukin-2 by helper T cells and stimulate the inflammatory response. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "People with the rare, inherited condition, called cryoprin-associated periodic syndrome, or CAPS, have a genetic mutation that causes the body to overproduce a protein called interleukin-1 beta, which leads to inflammation and tissue damage."
• "The animals suffered an increase in an inflammation-causing chemical called interleukin-1, used by the body to fight infections, and had fewer complex nerve cells that carry signals to the brain from the rest of the body."
• "Aspirin blocks the pyrogen-induced production of prostaglandins, the central nervous system response to COX and the release of interleukin-1."