Liver regeneration induced by a designer human IL-6/sIL-6R fusion protein reverses severe hepatocellular injury

The cytokine IL-6 plays a significant role in liver regeneration in conjunc tion with additional growth factors (HGF, TNF-alpha, and TGF-alpha). Many I L-6 effects depend on a naturally occurring soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Here, the chimeric protein hyper-IL-6, constructed from the human IL-6 pro tein fused to a truncated form of its receptor, was found to have superagon istic IL-6 properties, and as such, enhanced liver cell regeneration. Hyper -IL-6 reversed the state of hepatotoxicity and enhanced the survival rates of rats suffering from fulminant hepatic failure after D-galactosamine admi nistration. The hyper-IL-6 protein has a significant potential for use in t he treatment of set ere human liver diseases.