IL-6 is an independent predictor of plaque progression, suggesting that it may be a marker of progressive atherosclerosis in the general population and that its central role in CVD may be related to promotion of plaque growth.
These deficits are not associated with atherosclerosis but are accompanied with altered astroglial activation, neurogenesis, cyclooxygenase-2 immunoreactivity and increased plasma IL-6.
The pro-inflammatory response to interleukin 6 (IL6) trans-signalling in atherosclerosis is driven by the IL6 and soluble IL6 receptor (sIL6R) binary complex.
SP-D deficiency reduces atherosclerosis in part by decreasing the accumulation and proliferation of macrophages and by reducing IL-6 levels systemically.
In CANTOS, the magnitude of benefit of this cytokine-targeted approach to atherosclerosis treatment was associated to the magnitude of reduction of the central signaling cytokine IL-6 and the downstream clinical biomarker high-sensitivity CRP (C-reactive protein).
The anti-oxidant <i>N</i>-acetylcysteine (NAC) not only suppresses IL-6 production and VSMC pathological responses including migration and proliferation but also prevents atherosclerosis in <i>ApoE</i><sup>-/-</sup> mice.
Counteracting pro- and anti-inflammatory responses of serum cytokines have been reported, but the relevance of TNF-alpha, TGF-beta and IL-6 gene expression in peripheral blood leukocytes and their contribution to systemic inflammation in atherosclerosis, especially after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), has not been investigated yet.
To better clarify the role of CD14 in atherosclerosis, we typed CD14 C-260T polymorphism in old Italian (Central of Italy) atherosclerotic patients with carotid stenosis related to lipid assessment, inflammation (soluble CD14, IL-6 serum levels) and IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-10, Metallothioneins (MT) gene expressions in carotid plaques.
IL6 -174 allele G homozygozity associates with beneficial profile of early predictors of atherosclerosis such as high CAC, HDL-C and apoA1 as well as low systolic and diastolic blood pressure in men.
Compared with those in the NC group, the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, IL-13 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the AS group significantly increased (p<0.05).
In multivariate analysis, OR for subclinical atherosclerosis was 7 (95% CI, 1.3-40, P = 0.02) and 9 (95% CI, 1.0-85, P = 0.04) for patients older than 44 years and IL-6 > 6·6 pg/mL, respectively.
Although the IL-6-174G/C promoter polymorphism has been associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, its relation to ischemic stroke is unclear.
Additionally, it was observed that FCs immunization down-regulated the expression level of atherosclerosis related pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IFN-γ, MCP-1, and IL-6 and enhanced the lesion stability with a significant increase in TGF-β1 level and collagen content.
The levels of blood lipids, atherosclerotic plaques (AP) formation, the lipid content, collagen content, apoptosis of aortic cells, angiogenesis as well as the expression of inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined through a series of experiments.MIAT was found to be upregulated in AS.
Infection with an adenovirus delivering the EMMPRIN-siRNA ameliorated AS, promoted macrophage autophagy in plaques and reduced the serum TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1 and NF-κB expression levels in the AS mice.
In the present study, we showed that treatment with a fusion protein of the natural IL-6 transsignaling inhibitor soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130) and IgG1-Fc (sgp130Fc) dramatically reduced atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic Ldlr(-/-) mice without affecting weight gain and serum lipid levels.