The incidence and prevalence of autoimmune disease showed marked increased over the second half of the 20th century, and it has become a major health problem. These diseases are usually chronic and can be life-threating. The causes of autoimmune disease remain largely unknown. The recent advance in knowledge has greatly increased our understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, and it is widely accepted that the environment, gene and immunity contributed to the development of autoimmunity.

Cytokines are a large group of proteins, peptides, and glycoproteins secreted by cells, including chemokines, interleukins, interferons, lymphokines, tumor necrosis factors, growth factors, adipokines and others. Cytokines are important players in the pathogenesis of these diseases through multiple ways, such as regulating inflammation and angiogenesis. One of the keys to control autoimmune diseases is an improved understanding of cytokines responses to these diseases; such information will aid the development of effective immunotherapeutic agents.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collate original research and review articles that seek to define the roles of cytokines in the pathogenesis and that explore the potential cytokine treatments for autoimmune diseases. We also solicit the submission of case reports and clinical trials relevant to these topics.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Identifying the roles of cytokines in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease
• Identifying the effects of cytokines on certain specific cell populations in autoimmune disease
• Clinical and preclinical evaluation of novel and effective anticytokine strategies for autoimmune disease
• Clinical and preclinical evaluation of cytokine-based immunotherapeutic strategies to treat autoimmune disease
• Identifying cytokine-based biomarkers/correlated with the severity of autoimmune disease