Medical Faculty, Department of Pathology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation (GC:I3), Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany.
Methods Mol Biol. 2023;2691:207-224. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3331-1_16.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine synthesized by many cells in the human body. IL-6 binds to a membrane-bound receptor (IL-6R), which is only present on hepatocytes, some epithelial cells, and some leukocytes. The complex of IL-6 and IL-6R binds to the ubiquitously expressed receptor subunit gp130, which forms a homodimer and thereby initiates intracellular signaling, e.g., the JAK/STAT and MAPK pathways. Proteases can cleave the membrane-bound IL-6R from the cell surface and generate a soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R), which retains its ability to bind IL-6. The IL-6/sIL-6R complex associates with gp130 and induces signaling even on cells which do not express the IL-6R. This paradigm has been called IL-6 trans-signaling, whereas signaling via the membrane-bound IL-6R is referred to as classic signaling. We have generated several molecular tools to differentiate between both pathways and to analyze the consequences of cellular IL-6 signaling in vivo. One of these tools is soluble gp130Fc, which selectively inhibits IL-6 trans-signaling. This protein under the WHO name Olamkicept has successfully undergone phase II clinical trials in patients with autoimmune diseases. Here, in this chapter, we describe several molecular tools to differentiate between IL-6 classic and trans-signaling and to analyze the consequences of cellular IL-6 signaling in vivo.
白细胞介素 6(IL-6)是人体许多细胞合成的细胞因子。IL-6 与膜结合受体(IL-6R)结合,IL-6R 仅存在于肝细胞、一些上皮细胞和一些白细胞中。IL-6 和 IL-6R 的复合物与广泛表达的受体亚基 gp130 结合,形成同源二聚体,从而启动细胞内信号转导,例如 JAK/STAT 和 MAPK 途径。蛋白酶可以将膜结合的 IL-6R 从细胞表面切割下来,并产生具有结合 IL-6 能力的可溶性 IL-6R(sIL-6R)。IL-6/sIL-6R 复合物与 gp130 结合并诱导信号转导,即使在不表达 IL-6R 的细胞上也是如此。这种模式被称为 IL-6 转导信号,而通过膜结合的 IL-6R 进行的信号转导则称为经典信号转导。我们已经生成了几种分子工具来区分这两种途径,并分析细胞内 IL-6 信号转导的体内后果。其中一种工具是可溶性 gp130Fc,它选择性地抑制 IL-6 转导信号。这种蛋白在世界卫生组织的名称为 Olamkicept,已成功在自身免疫性疾病患者中进行了 II 期临床试验。在本章中,我们描述了几种分子工具,用于区分 IL-6 经典信号和转导信号,并分析细胞内 IL-6 信号转导的体内后果。