S. Akira, T. Hirano, T. Taga, T. Kishimoto, "Biology of multifunctional cytokines: IL 6 and related molecules (IL 1 and TNF)," FASEB Journal, 4:2860-67, 1990.
Shizuo Akira (Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Osaka University, Japan): "Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays a central role in defense mechanisms, including the immune response, acute phase reaction, and hematopoiesis. Since our success in the cloning of the IL-6 cDNA in 1985, our group has been studying IL-6 action from various aspects, using molecular and cellular biological techniques. We have clarified biological function, pathological involvement of IL-6, the IL-6 receptor system, and IL-6 gene regulation. As a result, the cloning of the IL-6 receptor complexes has disclosed the existence of a novel cytokine superfamily and a two-chain- signal transduction system, which has now been identified in other cytokine receptor systems. Studies on IL-6 gene regulation have led to the cloning of...
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