In those patients, higher levels of IL-5, IL-6 and IL-17 were quantified in CD4<sup>+</sup> T-cell cultures as compared with patients with mild and moderate AA.
IL-6 has been shown to play an important role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while IL-13 is described as one of the key mediators of allergic asthma.
Moreover, maternal stress can alter fetal cytokine balance, favoring TH2 (allergic) immune responses characteristic of atopic asthma: interleukin 6 (IL-6), which has been associated with premature labor, can promote TH2 responses by stimulating production of IL-4 and IL-13.
IL-6 plays a central role in supporting pathological T(H2) and T(H17) cell development and inhibiting the protective T regulatory cells in allergic asthma.