IL-6 polymorphisms: a useful genetic tool for inflammation research?

Abstract

In 1998, we described a novel polymorphism in the promoter (G>C, rs1800795) of the IL-6 (IL6) gene. The common allele, G, exhibited higher transcriptional activity in gene reporter assays and was associated with higher serum IL-6 levels in a small cohort of healthy subjects. We explored the ethnic distribution of these alleles and found significant differences among people of mixed European descent, Africans, and Gujarati Asians. Disease association was established in a cohort of 92 children of mixed European descent from the United Kingdom with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA), with the GG genotype being significantly increased in sJIA cases compared with that in 383 controls, especially in those under 6 years old (P = 0.01). This polymorphism has since been used as a functional variant to explore the role of elevated IL-6 levels in many common disease states, confirming the key causal role of IL-6 in human health and disease.

Response to the dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes might be associated with a diplotype of two single nucleotide polymorphisms on the interleukin‐6 promoter region under a certain level of physical activity

“…Rs1800795 has been implicated in immunological and metabolic abnormalities 19 , but all patients in the present study had only the G allele, which has been confirmed in subjects of Japanese ethnicity 20 . The rs1800796 G allele was reported to be associated with higher plasma IL-6 levels in normal Han Chinese 21 and Asian patients with type 2 diabetes 22,23 , whereas it was associated with a lower level of IL-6 in Hong Kong Chinese 24 .…”

Lesson of the month 1: Septic arthritis with normal acute phase reactants and white cell count in a patient receiving tocilizumab

“…Tocilizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody against the interleukin-6 receptor. 1 In common with other biologic agents used in rheumatoid arthritis, tocilizumab is associated with a modest increase in the risk of infection with a relative risk of 1.82 compared with placebo.…”

In vitro Evaluation of Tribocorrosion Induced Failure Mechanisms at the Cell‐Metal Interface for the Hip Implant Application

“…The up‐regulation under E pass potential might indicate that when subjected to this potential, MG‐63 osteoblast‐like cells can enhance their maturation characteristics compared to those grown on the other potentials. However, the up‐regulation of IL‐6 gene, a macrophage‐derived cytokine involved in the immunosuppression activity of the cells, might show a tendency to induce an inflammatory response at some extent, when subjected to tribocorrosion. The gene expression results obtained for the E cat potential were not discriminative when compared to the other potentials.…”