title: Significance of interleukin-6 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: The significance of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was studied by measuring the IL-6 level in serum and colonic tissue by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and by examining its localization using an immunohistochemical method. The serum IL-6 level reflected the degree of disease activity, and the extent of affected area, and was also correlated with the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level. In the colonic mucosa of active IBD, the tissue IL-6 level was markedly elevated, and immunoreactive products of anti-IL-6 antibody were present in infiltrative mononuclear cells in the lamina propria. This indicates that IL-6 production in these cells is enhanced at the site of affected intestine. These results, together with its biological activity and the type of cell producing it, suggest that IL-6 is an available marker to assess disease conditions of IBD and that it might be also involved in the pathophysiology of IBD.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitsuyama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanikawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003106:Colon / Q000737:chemistry; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein