Published in:
Open Access
01-12-2012 | Oral presentation
Interleukin-6 as a therapeutic target in locomotor disorders
Authors:
Norihiro Nishimoto, Miho Murakami, Takaji Matsutani, Jun Hashimoto, Nobuhiro Takagi
Published in:
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|
Special Issue 1/2012
Login to get access
Excerpt
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that regulates immune response, inflammation, and hematopoiesis. Although IL-6 plays several important physiological roles, deregulated overproduction of IL-6 causes various clinical symptoms and laboratory abnormalities. In the locomotor disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), IL-6 overproduction has been shown to be involved in inflammatory manifestations as well as joint destruction. Thus the blocking IL-6 signaling may be a therapeutic approach in those diseases. Various therapeutic antibodies targeting IL-6 have been developed, and tocilizumab (TCZ), an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, precedes the others in clinical use. …
