There are many common diseases where the inflammatory cytokine called Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is activated. In healthy people, IL-17 is typically undetectable when tested for, but inflammatory diseases often show that IL-17 is activated and at elevated levels.
IL-17 does have a purpose in the body as part of the body's defense system, but like other inflammatory mediators, chronic activation is neither good nor healthful.
It is important to remember that IL-17 is fairly high up in the inflammatory cascade, and reducing it can cause a reduction in many of the inflammatory mediators and inflammatory pathways that are below IL-17 in the inflammatory cascade. This is important to be aware of in treating inflammatory diseases where IL-17 is chronically activated. IL-17 is secreted by TH-17 cells along with other inflammatory mediators such as IL-21, IL-22, and IL-23. Some of these other inflammatory mediators that become active are:
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