C/EBP: The structure, regulation, and its roles in inflammation-related diseases

Inflammation, a mechanism of the human body, has been implicated in many diseases. Inflammatory responses include the release of inflammatory mediators by activating various signaling pathways. CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBP beta), a transcription factor in the C/EBP family, contains the leucine zipper (bZIP) domain. The expression of C/EBP beta is mediated at the transcriptional and post-translational levels, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, and SUMOylation. C/EBP beta has been involved in inflammatory responses by mediating several signaling pathways, such as MAPK/NF-kappa B and IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathways. C/EBP beta plays an important role in the pathological development of inflammation-related diseases, such as osteoarthritis, pneumonia, hepatitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we comprehensively discuss the structure and biological effects of C/EBP beta and its role in inflammatory diseases.