Interleukin-6: obstacles to targeting a complex cytokine in critical illness.
Lancet Respir Med
; 9(6): 643-654, 2021 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1291133
ABSTRACT
Circulating concentrations of the pleiotropic cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) are known to be increased in pro-inflammatory critical care syndromes, such as sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Elevations in serum IL-6 concentrations in patients with severe COVID-19 have led to renewed interest in the cytokine as a therapeutic target. However, although the pro-inflammatory properties of IL-6 are widely known, the cytokine also has a series of important physiological and anti-inflammatory functions. An adequate understanding of the complex processes by which IL-6 signalling occurs is crucial for the correct interpretation of IL-6 concentrations in the blood or lung, the use of IL-6 as a critical care biomarker, or the design of effective anti-IL-6 strategies. Here, we outline the role of IL-6 in health and disease, explain the different types of IL-6 signalling and their contribution to the net biological effect of the cytokine, describe the approaches to IL-6 inhibition that are currently available, and discuss implications for the future use of treatments such as tocilizumab in the critical care setting.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Interleukin-6
/
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Lancet Respir Med
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S2213-2600(21)00103-x
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