Suzuki H, Sugiyama E, Tunru I S, Yamashita N, Matsuno H, Hamazaki T, Kobayashi M
First Department of Internal Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.
Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1993 Jan;66(1):67-72. doi: 10.1006/clin.1993.1009.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has recently been characterized as a mediator of multiple inflammatory responses. Excessive production of this cytokine has been demonstrated in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). On the other hand, anti-inflammatory effects of IL-4 have recently been demonstrated. We therefore investigated the suppressive effect of IL-4 on IL-6 production by synovial cells in patients with RA. Freshly prepared adherent rheumatoid synovial cells expressed IL-6 mRNA and spontaneously produced a large amount of IL-6 in culture. This spontaneous production of IL-6 was significantly suppressed by IL-4. The suppressive effect of IL-4 on IL-6 production was demonstrated in all patients with RA tested in this study. On the other hand, IL-6 mRNA levels already expressed in adherent synovial cells were not reduced by IL-4 in 24 hr of culture. The suppressive effect of IL-4 on IL-6 production suggests that IL-4 is an important physiological regulator of IL-6 production in synovial cells.
白细胞介素-6（IL-6）最近被确定为多种炎症反应的介质。在类风湿关节炎（RA）患者的关节中已证实这种细胞因子产生过多。另一方面，最近已证实IL-4具有抗炎作用。因此，我们研究了IL-4对RA患者滑膜细胞产生IL-6的抑制作用。新鲜制备的贴壁类风湿滑膜细胞表达IL-6 mRNA，并在培养中自发产生大量IL-6。IL-4可显著抑制IL-6的这种自发产生。在本研究中测试的所有RA患者中均证实了IL-4对IL-6产生的抑制作用。另一方面，在培养24小时后，贴壁滑膜细胞中已表达的IL-6 mRNA水平并未被IL-4降低。IL-4对IL-6产生的抑制作用表明IL-4是滑膜细胞中IL-6产生的重要生理调节因子。
