Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Improving glycemic control may also aid COVID-19 outcomes

(HealthDay)—Insulin infusion helps achieve glycemic targets and may reduce the risk for poor outcomes in patients with hyperglycemia and COVID-19, according to a study published online May 19 in Diabetes Care.

Diabetes

Designer type 2 diabetes drug comes with added benefits

A potential new treatment for type 2 diabetes has multiple, positive effects on health and metabolism in mice, reports a study in Nature. The new drug might have potential for treating a variety of disorders in addition to ...

Neuroscience

Researchers find new brain mechanisms regulating body weight

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have clarified the link between the molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the brain and obesity. In experiments on rats and mice, they show that the molecule does affect the ...

Medical research

How exercise reduces belly fat in humans

Some of you may have made a New Year's resolution to hit the gym to tackle that annoying belly fat. But have you ever wondered how physical activity produces this desired effect? A signaling molecule called interleukin-6 ...

Immunology

Scientists find molecular 'switch' for allergic asthma treatment

A team of Russian scientists has identified the role of the interleukin-6 molecule in the development of allergic asthma. It may comprise a new target for the treatment of this disease. The results are published in Frontiers ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Children with behavioral problems more at risk of inflammation

Children with behavioral problems may be at risk of many chronic diseases in adulthood including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, as well as inflammatory illnesses (conditions which are caused by cell damage).

Health

Who benefits from vitamin D?

Studying the expression of genes that are dependent on vitamin D makes it possible to identify individuals who will benefit from vitamin D supplementation, shows a University of Eastern Finland study published recently in ...

Medical research

Unusual comparison nets new sleep loss marker

(Medical Xpress)—For years, Paul Shaw, PhD, a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has used what he learns in fruit flies to look for markers of sleep loss in humans.

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Interleukin 6

More reference expression data

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an interleukin that acts as both a pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine. It is secreted by T cells and macrophages to stimulate immune response to trauma, especially burns or other tissue damage leading to inflammation. In terms of host response to a foreign pathogen, IL-6 has been shown, in mice, to be required for resistance against the bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae. IL-6 is also a "myokine," a cytokine produced from muscle, and is elevated in response to muscle contraction. It is significantly elevated with exercise, and precedes the appearance of other cytokines in the circulation. During exercise, it is thought to act in a hormone-like manner to mobilize extracellular substrates and/or augment substrate delivery (Petersen, J Appl Physiol 2005). Additionally, osteoblasts secrete IL-6 to stimulate osteoblast formation. Smooth muscle cells in the tunica media of many blood vessels also produce IL-6 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine. IL-6's role as an anti-inflammatory cytokine is mediated through its inhibitory effects on TNF-alpha and IL-1, and activation of IL-1ra and IL-10.

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