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Interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor in the colonic mucosa of inflammatory bowel disease

1999; Wiley; Volume: 14; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1046/j.1440-1746.1999.01989.x

1440-1746

Takehiko Hosokawa, Kazuo Kusugami, Kenji Ina, Takafumi Ando, Masataka Shinoda, Akira Imada, Masahiro Ohsuga, T Sakai, Toshihiro Matsuura, Katsuki Ito, Kenmei Kaneshiro,

Whipple's Disease and Interleukins

Background : Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has multiple immunological effects on a wide variety of cells and tissues. The expression of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) may be important to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods : In the present study, we examined whether mucosal IL-6 and soluble IL-6R were associated with the pathophysiology of IBD using the colonic mucosal specimens obtained from patients with IBD. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R in organ cultures of mucosal tissues and in cell cultures of fractionated mucosal cells as well as in the serum. Expression of IL-6 and IL-6R was analysed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis using freshly isolated lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC). Results : The levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R in organ cultures were substantially elevated in patients with IBD, especially in those with histologically active inflammation. In contrast, considerably higher levels of sIL-6R were detected in patients with other types of colonic inflammation who were included as inflammatory controls, but elevation of IL-6 was less prominent in such patients. The positivity for expression of IL-6 and IL-6R mRNA in LPMC was in parallel with the results obtained in organ cultures. In cell cultures, mucosal macrophages were the main cell type producing both IL-6 and sIL-6R on a per cell basis and other cell fractions including colonic epithelial cells and lymphocytes produced substantially lower amounts of these molecules. The levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R in organ cultures, but not those in the serum, showed a significantly positive correlation with the degree of clinical disease activity in patients with IBD. Conclusions : Enhanced IL-6/sIL-6R-mediated immune and inflammatory responses may be implicated, at least partly, in the continuation of intestinal inflammation in patients with IBD. © 1999 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd