Interleukin-36 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in the pathophysiology of several diseases. IL-36α, IL-36β, and IL-36γ （formerly IL-1F6, IL-1F8, and IL-1F9） are IL-1 family members that signal through the IL-1 receptor family members IL-1Rrp2 （IL-1RL2） and IL-1RAcP. IL-36βactivates NF-kappa-B and MAPK signaling pathways in target cells linked to a pro-inflammatory response.
IL-36βare involved in a number of fundamental biological processes such as stimulating production of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in synovial fibrobasts, articular chondrocytes and mature adipocytes, inducing expression of a number of antimicrobial peptides including beta-defensin 4 and beta-defensin 103 as well as a number of matrix metalloproteases , inducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells （BMDCs）, including IL-12, Il-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-23, and activating p38 MAPK phosphorylation in BMDCs.