Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and innate immunity : a narrative review of the roles of IL-1β and IL-8 (CXCL8)

Bačaj Ivanić, Dubravka (author), Grosek, Štefan (author), Kopitar, Andreja Nataša (author)

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a leading chronic lung complication in extremely premature newborns. The etiological factors contributing to of BPD include both prenatal and postnatal risk factors, as well as activation of innate immunity. Innate immunity and its bioactive mediators play a central role in orchestrating the inflammatory response. Among these, interleukin-1β (IL-1 β) and IL-8 (CXCL8) are particularly prominent. Methods: A structured literature search was conducted across major biomedical databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE) to identify relevant studies published between 1993 and November 2025. Article selection was guided by predefined inclusion criteria focusing on studies that examined IL-1β and IL-8 (CXCL8) in relation to bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Evidence from both human and animal studies was narratively synthesized. Results: This review provides a detailed description of the role of the innate immune system in BPD, including mechanisms of inflammatory initiation, evidence from human and animal studies on IL-1β and IL-8 (CXCL8), and the interaction between these two cytokines in the development of chronic lung disease. Conclusions: Both human and animal studies generally suggest that elevated levels of IL-1β and IL-8 (CXCL8) are closely associated with the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants.

• Language: English
• Keywords: premature infant, chronic lung disease, inflammation, cytokines, chemokines
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 23 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 7, art. 888
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-184866
• UDC: 616-053.2
• ISSN on article: 2227-9067
• DOI: 10.3390/children13070888
• COBISS.SI-ID: 283972867
• Publication date in RUL: 16.07.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Children
• Shortened title: Children
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2227-9067
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523029017

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: nedonošenček, kronična pljučna bolezen, vnetje, citokini, kemokini

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P3-0083
• Name: Odnosi parazitskega obstajanja

• Funder: University Medical Centre Ljubljana
• Project number: 20240222