title: The evidence for interleukin-6 as an autocrine growth factor in malignancy.
abstract: Interleukin-6, IL-6, is a pleiotropic cytokine which plays a central role in defense mechanisms, including the immune response, acute phase reaction and hematopoiesis. Abnormal expression of the IL-6 gene has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis, Castleman's disease, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, multiple myeloma and Kaposi's sarcoma. In the case of multiple myeloma and Kaposi's sarcoma, the existence of an IL-6-IL-6 receptor autocrine loop has been implicated in the oncogenesis process. On the other hand, IL-6 has a potent anti-tumor activity against certain types of tumors. This anti-tumor effect is mediated by in vivo induction of tumor specific cytotoxic T cells and in part by a growth inhibitory activity of IL-6.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Osaka University, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akira
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000502:physiology; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6