Role of interleukin-6 signalling in glucose and lipid metabolism.
Derangements in whole body glucose and lipid metabolism, accompanied by insulin resistance, are key features of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. A role for inflammation as a causative factor is an emerging concept in the field of metabolic disease. Research has centred on identifying important inflammatory markers, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha has been highlighted as a key mediator of insulin resistance, as well as interleukin-6 (IL-6). A parallel ongoing endeavour is the unravelling of molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of physical exercise on whole body glucose and lipid metabolism. Release of IL-6 from the contracting skeletal muscle has been proposed to be one of the molecular signals promoting the beneficial exercise-induced effects. These two opposing views of IL-6 underscore that the role of IL-6 in whole body physiology is incompletely resolved. This review aims at summarizing the current data on mechanisms by which IL-6 may impact on glucose and lipid metabolism.
Glund
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Section of Integrative Physiology, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Krook
A
A
D000818:Animals; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
D015850:Interleukin-6; D005947:Glucose