Case report: Interleukin‐6 positive follicular hyperplasia in the lymph node of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

We examined interleukin-6 production in the hyperplastic lymph node of a 77-year-old male rheumatoid arthritis patient with lymphadenopathy. The interleukin-6 production of the lymph node was observed by both immunohistological staining and in vitro culture. The results suggest that interleukin-6 plays a significant pathogenic role in the etiology of the lymphadenopathy seen in many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

A Case of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Limited Systemic Sclerosis Overlap Successfully Treated with Tocilizumab for Arthritis and Concomitant Generalized Lymphadenopathy and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

“…TNF- α blockers should be avoided in such a condition because Food and Drug Administration has issued warning that there is an increased risk of malignancy in patients treated with TNF- α blockers [1]. Numata et al reported an RA patient with lymphadenopathy that showed follicular hyperplasia with increased expression of IL-6 in germinal centers that was identical to the pathologic characteristics of Castleman disease and the lymphocytes from this lymph node produced IL-6 in in vitro culture [12]. This patient showed the same histopathological features and also exhibited the increased expression of IL-6 in the germinal centers and interfollicular area.…”

Suboptimal Clinical Response to Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFa) Antibody Therapy in a Patient with Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lymphadenopathy: CASE REPORT

“…According to the previous reports (4,5), IL-6 plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of RA as well as TNFa. Therefore, blocking TNFa alone could not suppress all IL-6 activities and not completely ameliorate the disease in this patient.…”