The role of IL-1 and TNF in inflammation, pain, tissue destruction and impairment of the repair process

Clinicians are well aware that different therapeutic approaches have to be used to counteract inflammation, pain, tissue destruction or to assist the repair process.

Although IL-1 and TNF share biological activities in most of the above, there are quantitative differences between them. For instance, in the context of inflammation TNF has a strong biological effect on endothelial cells, more so than IL-1, by inducing endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule (ELAM), which facilitates the adherence of blood leukocytes to the endothelial surface.