The first approved medication in this class,
tocilizumab (Actemra), is an antibody directed against the
IL6-receptor.[8] The second,
siltuximab (Sylvant), is directed against IL-6 itself.[1][9]Siltuximab is approved for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus-negative and
HHV-8-negative patients with multicentric
Castleman's disease. Siltuximab was also tested in the phase I/II study for therapy of patients with metastatic castration-associated
prostate cancer in combination with
docetaxel and in
renal cell carcinoma; phase II trials in
ovarian cancer resulted in 39% of patients showed disease stabilization via
IL-6-regulated downregulation of
CCL2,
CXCL12 and
VEGF.
e.g. for rheumatoid arthritis : clazakizumab, olokizumab, sarilumab and sirukumab have all reported encouraging phase 2 results.[7] Sirukumab is in multiple phase 3 trials.[7]: Table1
New research has found IL-6 to be an anti-inflammatory cytokine with multiple beneficial effects when released by contracting muscle as a
myokine. IL-6 had previously been classified as a proinflammatory cytokine. Therefore, it was first thought that the exercise-induced IL-6 response was related to muscle damage.[22] However, it has become evident that
eccentric exercises are not associated with a larger increase in plasma IL-6 than exercise involving concentric “nondamaging” muscle contractions. This finding demonstrates that muscle damage is not required to provoke an increase in plasma IL-6 during exercise. In fact, eccentric exercise may result in a delayed peak and a much slower decrease of plasma IL-6 during recovery.[23] Anti-IL-6 therapies should therefore take into consideration the (beneficial) anti-inflammatory effects of
myokines generally, including the now-established multiple benefits of muscle-derived
Interleukin 6.[23]
IL6 and asthma
Obesity is a known risk factor in the development of severe
asthma, and work has suggested that IL-6 plays a role in regulating disease severity in obesity-related asthma.[24]
Luteolin reduces IL-6 production in some neurons.[25]
^Barton BE (2005). "Interleukin-6 and new strategies for the treatment of cancer, hyperproliferative diseases and paraneoplastic syndromes". Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 9 (4): 737–52.
doi:
10.1517/14728222.9.4.737.
PMID16083340.
S2CID45421426.