What's happened to catabolin?

Abstract

Unlike other areas of research into arthritis, it is pleasing to record independent work leading to convergence of ideas instead of divergence and increasing complexity. Catabolin is now identified with interleukin-1, although there is case for the retention of the original name to describe its chondrocyte-stimulating function with subsequent matrix degradation. In 10 years, catabolin/interleukin-1 research has yielded much information about cellular interactions within the arthritic joint and has provided a probe with which the intricacies of matrix metabolism are being unravelled. In future, there are prospects of characterizing the naturally occurring inhibitors and developing new compounds which influence the actions of catabolin/IL-1 to the benefit of the patient with arthritis.