Interleukin-6: A promising cytokine to support liver regeneration and adaptive immunity in liver pathologies

• Published in: Cytokine & growth factor reviews Vol. 39; pp. 36 - 45
• Main Authors: Naseem, Sidrah, Hussain, Tabinda, Manzoor, Sobia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2018
• Subjects: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Humans; IL-6; Immunity, Innate; Inflammation; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - genetics; Interleukin-6 - immunology; Liver - immunology; Liver - pathology; Liver Diseases - drug therapy; Liver Diseases - immunology; Liver pathologies; Liver Regeneration; Lymphocyte Activation; Mice; Signal Transduction - immunology; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Adaptive immunity; Liver pathologies; Liver regeneration; IL-6; Interleukin-6
• ISSN: 1359-6101; 1879-0305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2018.01.002

•IL-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that exerts both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory roles.•IL-6 is a critical regulator of liver regeneration and host defence against pathogens in various liver pathologies.•IL-6 is widely expressed by a variety of cells.•Previously viewed as a detrimental cytokine, IL-6 has huge potential as a modulator of inflammatory and carcinogenic pathways.•This review highlights the beneficial role of IL-6 in addressing liver pathologies. Liver pathologies (fibrosis, cirrhosis, alcoholic, non-alcoholic diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma) represent one of the most common causes of death worldwide. A number of genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of liver diseases. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine, exerting variety of effects on inflammation, liver regeneration, and defence against infections by regulating adaptive immunity. Due to its high abundance in inflammatory settings, IL-6 is often viewed as a detrimental cytokine. However, accumulating evidence supports the view that IL-6 has a beneficial impact in numerous liver pathologies, due to its roles in liver regeneration and in promoting an anti-inflammatory response in certain conditions. IL-6 promotes proliferation, angiogenesis and metabolism, and downregulates apoptosis and oxidative stress; together these functions are critical for mediating hepatoprotection. IL-6 is also an important regulator of adaptive immunity where it induces T cell differentiation and regulates autoimmunity. It can augment antiviral adaptive immune responses and mitigate exhaustion of T cells during chronic infection. This review focuses on studies that present IL-6 as a key factor in regulating liver regeneration and in supporting effector immune functions and suggests that these functions of IL-6 can be exploited in treatment strategies for liver pathologies.