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Regulation of Cytokine Gene Expression in Immunity and Diseases pp 79–88Cite as

Regulation of IL-6 in Immunity and Diseases

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 941))

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a prototypical cytokine with functional pleiotropy and plays an important role in host defense. When infections or tissue injuries occur, IL-6 is promptly produced by monocytes and macrophages and contributes to removal of infectious agents and restoration of damaged tissues through activation of immune, hematological, and acute-phase responses. Once stress is removed from the host, IL-6 synthesis ends, but uncontrolled excessive or persistent IL-6 production plays a pathological role in the development of various inflammatory diseases and cancers, indicating that IL-6 is a double-edged sword for the host. Thus, the proper IL-6 expression is very important for host defense and is strictly controlled by chromatin structure, transcriptional regulation, and posttranscriptional modification. Differentiation status of cells, various transcription factors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs are involved in this process. Since it is assumed that dysregulation of any of these regulatory molecules may cause abnormal IL-6 expression in a particular disease, further elucidation of the factors and processes involved in IL-6 expression can be expected to facilitate to clarification of pathogenesis and to identification of novel target molecule(s) for specific diseases.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Application of Biologics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Toshio Tanaka

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Rheumatic Diseases, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Masashi Narazaki

  3. Laboratory of Immune Regulation, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Kazuya Masuda & Tadamitsu Kishimoto

Authors
  1. Toshio Tanaka
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  2. Masashi Narazaki
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  3. Kazuya Masuda
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  4. Tadamitsu Kishimoto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tadamitsu Kishimoto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Sheng Yushou Center of Cell Biology and Immunology, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China

    Xiaojing Ma

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Tanaka, T., Narazaki, M., Masuda, K., Kishimoto, T. (2016). Regulation of IL-6 in Immunity and Diseases. In: Ma, X. (eds) Regulation of Cytokine Gene Expression in Immunity and Diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 941. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0921-5_4

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