%0 Journal Article
%T The Enigmatic Cytokine Oncostatin M and Roles in Disease
%A Carl D. Richards
%J ISRN Inflammation
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/512103
%X Oncostatin M is a secreted cytokine involved in homeostasis and in diseases involving chronic inflammation. It is a member of the gp130 family of cytokines that have pleiotropic functions in differentiation, cell proliferation, and hematopoetic, immunologic, and inflammatory networks. However, Oncostatin M also has activities novel to mediators of this cytokine family and others and may have fundamental roles in mechanisms of inflammation in pathology. Studies have explored Oncostatin M functions in cancer, bone metabolism, liver regeneration, and conditions with chronic inflammation including rheumatoid arthritis, lung and skin inflammatory disease, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. This paper will review Oncostatin M biology in a historical fashion and focus on its unique activities, in vitro and in vivo, that differentiate it from other cytokines and inspire further study or consideration in therapeutic approaches. 1. Introduction Despite the original identification and cloning of the human cytokine Oncostatin M (OSM) in the late 1980s and an increasing interest in its study more recently, there is still a considerable amount that is not clear about its biology, function in vivo, and contradictory points of view on its role in certain conditions. The grouping of OSM into the family of gp130 (or IL-6/LIF) cytokines has been useful in rationalizing some redundant functions among this group and to explain lack of severe phenotypes in gene deficient mice. However, this grouping may also mask unique effects of OSM that has significant effects upon over- or underexpression in adult mammals. Reviews specifically on OSM have been published in 2003 and 2004 [1, 2] and other more recent reviews of the gp130 cytokine family including those of Silver and Hunter [3] and Sims and Walsh [4] incorporate aspects of OSM biology. This review will focus on OSM, discuss its activities relevant to pathology, and examine functions of OSM that are distinct from other gp130 family members, with a view to suggest further study into this interesting molecule and its role in disease. 2. Discovery, Cloning, and Expression OSM was first purified and biochemically characterized on the basis of its antiproliferative activity on the A375 human melanoma cell line in vitro [5]. Its name was coined based on this inhibitory function on A375 and other melanoma cell lines. A potential function in the regulation of cancer was explored and further studies have clearly shown pleiotropic actions in hematopoietic, skeletal tissue alteration, metabolic, immunologic, differentiation,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.inflammation/2013/512103/