Oxidative protein damage is associated with elevated serum interleukin-6 levels among older moderately to severely disabled women living in the community.
BACKGROUND
Elevated interleukin (IL)-6 is associated with adverse outcomes. Our objective was to determine whether serum protein carbonyls, an indicator of oxidative protein damage and oxidative stress, were associated with IL-6.


METHODS
Serum protein carbonyls and IL-6 were measured in 739 women, age > or =65 years, in the Women's Health and Aging Study I.


RESULTS
Geometric mean of protein carbonyls was 0.082 nmol/mg. After adjusting for age and smoking status, log(e) serum protein carbonyls were associated with log(e) IL-6 (beta = 0.143, standard error [SE] = 0.048, p =.003) in linear regression analyses and with elevated IL-6 (> or =2.5 pg/mL) (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.86, p =.037) in logistic regression analyses. CONCLUSION. Oxidative damage to proteins is independently associated with serum IL-6 among older women living in the community. Increased oxidative stress may be a factor involved in the pathogenesis of the proinflammatory state that occurs in older adults.
Dayhoff-Brannigan
Margaret
M
John Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Ferrucci
Luigi
L
Sun
Kai
K
Fried
Linda P
LP
Walston
Jeremy
J
Varadhan
Ravi
R
Guralnik
Jack M
JM
Semba
Richard D
RD
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D050050:Protein Carbonylation; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health
D015850:Interleukin-6; D011506:Proteins