Enhanced production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), oncostatin M and soluble IL-6receptor by cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients withsystemic sclerosis
M. Hasegawa et al., Enhanced production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), oncostatin M and soluble IL-6receptor by cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients withsystemic sclerosis, RHEUMATOLOG, 38(7), 1999, pp. 612-617
Objectives. To determine whether the spontaneous production of interleukin
6 (IL-6), oncostatin M (OSM), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and soluble gp
130 (sgp130) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is increased in
patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).
Methods. The culture supernatants of PBMC from patients with SSc (n = 33) a
nd healthy controls (n = 20) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent a
ssay.
Results. The production levels of IL-6, OSM and sIL-6R were significantly h
igher in patients with SSc than in controls. However, sgp130 levels in supe
rnatants from patients with SSc were not significantly elevated when compar
ed with those from controls. Soluble IL-6R levels correlated significantly
with the severity of pulmonary fibrosis in patients with SSc.
Conclusions. The enhanced production of IL-6, OSM and sIL-6R from PBMC may
cooperatively contribute to the disease process in SSc. In particular, enha
nced sIL-6R production from PBMC may be related to the development of pulmo
nary fibrosis via enhancement of IL-6 signal transduction in SSc, since sIL
-6R can act as an agonist of IL-6.