title: Role of interleukin-6 in macrophage function.
abstract: Interleukin-6 is a multifunctional cytokine important for host defense. Macrophages are potent producers of interleukin-6. Conversely, interleukin-6 acts on monocytes to induce their differentiation to macrophages. This paper reviews the in vivo roles of interleukin-6 and nuclear factor for interleukin-6 expression that have been revealed by gene targeting as well as recent progress in understanding the interleukin-6 gene regulation and signaling pathway in macrophages.
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: D000818:Animals; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors