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Review
. 2022 Dec:22 Suppl 4:18-27.
doi: 10.1111/ajt.17209.

Impact of interleukin-6 on T cells in kidney transplant recipients

Sindhu Chandran  1 , Qizhi Tang  2
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Impact of interleukin-6 on T cells in kidney transplant recipients

Sindhu Chandran et al. Am J Transplant. 2022 Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a multifunctional proinflammatory cytokine, plays a key role in T cell activation, survival, and differentiation. Acting as a switch that induces the differentiation of naïve T cells into Th17 cells and inhibits their development into regulatory T cells, IL-6 promotes rejection and abrogates tolerance. Therapies that target IL-6 signaling include antibodies to IL-6 and the IL-6 receptor and inhibitors of janus kinases; several of these therapeutics have demonstrated robust clinical efficacy in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Clinical trials of IL-6 inhibition in kidney transplantation have focused primarily on its effects on B cells, plasma cells, and HLA antibodies. In this review, we summarize the impact of IL-6 on T cells in experimental models of transplant and describe the effects of IL-6 inhibition on the T cell compartment in kidney transplant recipients.

Keywords: clinical research/practice; cytokines/cytokine receptors; immunobiology; immunosuppressant-fusion proteins and monoclonal antibodies: T cell specific; immunosuppression/immune modulation; kidney transplantation/nephrology; lymphocyte biology: differentiation/maturation; rejection: T cell mediated (TCMR); tolerance: clinical; translational research/science.

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References

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