| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Anti-Interleukin-6 and Soluble Interleukin-6 Receptor in Systemic Lupus ErythematosusImmunology Research Laboratory, St. Luke's Hospital, 4400 Womall Road, Kansas City, MO 64111, USA
Immunology Research Laboratory, St. Luke's Hospital, 4400 Womall Road, Kansas City, MO 64111, USA IL-6, soluble IL-6 receptor and IgG with anti-IL-6 activity were measured in the plasma of 14 lupus patients and 10 normal subjects. The capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to spontaneously produce IL-6 in vitro was also measured. Our results indicate that IL-6 plasma levels in patient plasma as measured by ELISA were not different from normal but that supernatant levels were significantly lower than normal (P < 0.05). In vitro IgG production was comparable for all lupus patients' cells irrespective of the in vitro IL-6 levels. Plasma soluble IL-6 receptor levels directly correlated with IL-6 production capacity of SLE cells and the ratio of soluble receptor to anti-IL-6 directly correlated with IL-6 production in patients but not in normals. Inhibition assays demonstrated competition between anti-IL-6 and soluble receptors for IL-6 and the inhibition by plasma of IL-6 binding to monoclonal anti-IL-6. We believe the interaction of anti-IL-6 and IL-6 receptor with IL-6 may contribute to the homeostasis in IL-6 activity in vivo and skewing of the soluble receptor/anti-IL-6 ration may contribute to the lupus disease process.
Key Words: IL-6 Anti-IL-6 sIL-6R Lupus
Lupus, Vol. 3, No. 3,
161-166 (1994) |
|||