title: Interleukin-6 as a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a wide range of biologic activities in immune regulation, hematopoiesis, inflammation, and oncogenesis. Recent accumulating evidence indicates a pathologic role for IL-6 in promoting proliferation of both smooth muscle and endothelial cells in the pulmonary arterioles, resulting in development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Here, we describe a patient with mixed connective tissue disease and severe, refractory PAH. Her functional activity and hemodynamic parameters dramatically responded to tocilizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody to human IL-6 receptor, which was aimed at treating multicentric Castleman's disease. It appears that IL-6 blockade may hold promise as an adjunct drug in treatment of PAH in idiopathic form as well as in association with connective tissue disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuwana