Interleukin-6 as a therapeutic target in candidate inflammatory diseases.
Interleukin (IL)-6 is a multifunctional cytokine that regulates immune response, inflammation, and hematopoiesis. Although IL-6 plays several important physiological roles, deregulated overproduction of IL-6 causes various clinical symptoms and abnormalities in laboratory test results. Overproduction of IL-6 has been shown to underlie a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (soJIA), and Castleman's disease, as well as malignancies such as multiple myeloma and mesothelioma. Blocking of IL-6 signaling may be therapeutic in diseases characterized by pathological IL-6 overproduction. This review provides an overview of IL-6 as a therapeutic target in candidate inflammatory diseases.
Nishimoto
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Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Wakayama Medical University, Ibaraki-City, Japan. norichan@wakayama-med.ac.jp
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors