Interleukin 6 (IL-6), promptly and transiently produced in response to infections and tissue injuries, contributes to host defense through the stimulation of acute phase responses, hematopoiesis, and immune reactions. Although its expression is strictly controlled by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms, dysregulated continual synthesis of IL-6 plays a pathological effect on chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. For this reason, tocilizumab, a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor antibody was developed. Various clinical trials have since shown the exceptional efficacy of tocilizumab, which resulted in its approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Moreover, tocilizumab is expected to be effective for other intractable immune-mediated diseases. In this context, the mechanism for the continual synthesis of IL-6 needs to be elucidated to facilitate the development of more specific therapeutic approaches and analysis of the pathogenesis of specific diseases.
During active disease, patients with systemic-onset juvenile chronic arthritis (S-JCA) demonstrate a rise and fall in serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) that parallels the classic quoti...
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is overproduced in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and, based on its multiple stimulatory effects on cells of the immune system and on...
Anti-IL-6 therapy induced suppression of the inflammatory response affects rapidly the disrupted bone homeostasis in active RA. An additional, possibly specific, effect of IL-6 ...
PURPOSE. Both Th17 and Th1 cells contribute to experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) blockade inhibits Th17 differentiation in EAU and potently suppr...
Macrophages are heterogeneous and their phenotype and functions are regulated by the surrounding micro‐environment. Macrophages commonly exist in two distinct subsets: 1) Classi...
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