Allergic diseases are ubiquitous diseases with detrimental effects on the quality of life of people worldwide. Common allergic diseases include asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic dermatitis (AD). Recently, studies have shown that interleukin (IL)-37, a novel cytokine in the IL-1 family, exhibits broad protective properties in various diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and cancer. IL-37 displays its anti-inflammatory effect on diseases by curbing innate and acquired immunity as well as inflammatory reactions. IL-37 functions by forming a complex with IL-18Rα and IL-1R8 extracellularly and can be translocated to the nucleus upon forming a complex with mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (Smad3) intracellularly, thereby affecting gene transcription and signaling pathway activation. In addition, increasing evidence confirms that IL-37 expression is aberrant in asthma, AR and AD, which indicates that IL-37 may also play essential roles in allergic diseases. Furthermore, accumulating data obtained from recombinant IL-37 (rIL-37)-treated mice and from IL-37 transgenic (IL-37tg) mice suggest a protective role for IL-37. This review will detail the role of IL-37 in the occurrence and development of allergic diseases and discuss the potential of IL-37 as a therapeutic target in allergic diseases.

过敏性疾病是普遍存在的疾病，会对全世界人民的生活质量产生不利影响。常见的过敏性疾病包括哮喘，过敏性鼻炎（AR）和过敏性皮炎（AD）。最近，研究表明白介素（IL）-37是IL-1家族中的一种新型细胞因子，在多种疾病（例如自身免疫性疾病和癌症）中表现出广泛的保护作用。IL-37通过抑制先天和后天免疫以及炎症反应，显示出对疾病的抗炎作用。IL-37通过在细胞外与IL-18Rα和IL-1R8形成复合物而发挥功能，并且在与母亲针对细胞内无功能性同系物3（Smad3）形成复合物后，可在细胞内转移到核中，从而影响基因转录和信号通路激活。此外，越来越多的证据证实IL-37在哮喘，AR和AD中的表达异常，这表明IL-37在过敏性疾病中也可能起重要作用。此外，从重组IL-37（rIL-37）处理的小鼠和IL-37转基因（IL-37tg）小鼠获得的累积数据表明，IL-37具有保护作用。这篇综述将详细介绍IL-37在过敏性疾病发生和发展中的作用，并讨论IL-37作为过敏性疾病治疗靶标的潜力。