06 February 2008
IL-6 and Cardiovascular Disease
So this is just a question I wanted to throw out there for anyone to answer. While I was reading the article that discussed the relationship of body fat mass and distribution to markers of chronic inflammation, it was stated that IL-6 has been shown to predict cardiovascular disease. I've heard this before, but I was wondering if anyone knew how this correlation was found and how this prediction works. I know that IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine, but Im still unclear on its relationship to cardiovascular disease.
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I found an article about IL-6's relationship to CVD: IL-6 Haplotypes, Inflammation, and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in a Multiethnic Dialysis Cohort
Yongmei Liu *, Yvette Berthier-Schaad {dagger}{ddagger}, Margaret D. Fallin {dagger}, Nancy E. Fink {dagger}, Russell P. Tracy {sect}, Michael J. Klag {dagger}, Michael W. Smith {ddagger}||, and Josef Coresh {dagger}1
It is stated in the article that genetic variation in IL-6 promoter region which alters the normal function of IL-6, leads to decrease in suppression of transcriptional activity of this proinflammatory cytokine so instead of lowering the production of IL-6 in the body, this genetic variation leads to increase in IL-6 production instead. An increase in IL-6 induces endothelial activation and CAM release which allow platelets to aggregate or coagulate around blood vessels/arteries. This may lead to increase risk in developing cardiovascular diseases.
I am not sure if this is the answer you are looking for but here is the simplified version of what I came to understand.. Basically, there is an increase in IL-6 production, which leads to a cascade of reactions and platelet aggregation in BV's, thus "clogging the BV's" and increasing the risk of CVD...(One of the articles I found online describle how the IL-6 mRNA is 10 to 40 times higher in atherosclerotic arteries. I am not sure if this was mentioned in other articles that we read but I thought that was quite interesting!)
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