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. 1998 Aug;41(8):1388-97.
doi: 10.1002/1529-0131(199808)41:8<1388::AID-ART7>3.0.CO;2-F.

Important immunoregulatory role of interleukin-11 in the inflammatory process in rheumatoid arthritis

J A Hermann  1 , M A Hall, R N Maini, M Feldmann, F M Brennan
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Important immunoregulatory role of interleukin-11 in the inflammatory process in rheumatoid arthritis

J A Hermann et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1998 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the possible immunoregulatory role of interleukin-11 (IL-11) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: IL-11 protein was assayed in RA tissue, and the effect of exogenous IL-11 on neutralization of endogenous IL-11 was investigated with respect to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) production.

Results: IL-11 was found in RA synovial membranes, synovial fluids, and blood sera. Blockade of endogenous IL-11 resulted in a 2-fold increase in TNFalpha levels, which increased to 22-fold if endogenous IL-10 was also blocked. Addition of exogenous IL-11 inhibited spontaneous TNFalpha production in RA synovium only in the presence of soluble IL-11 receptor. However, exogenous IL-11 directly inhibited spontaneous MMP-1 and MMP-3 production, and up-regulated TIMP-1 in RA synovial tissue.

Conclusion: IL-11 has important endogenous immunoregulatory effects in RA synovium, which suggests that exogenous IL-11 may have therapeutic activity in RA.

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