Interleukin-6 as a Potential Therapeutic Target for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Abstract EN

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a wide range of biologic activities in immune regulation, hematopoiesis, inflammation, and oncogenesis.

Recent accumulating evidence indicates a pathologic role for IL-6 in promoting proliferation of both smooth muscle and endothelial cells in the pulmonary arterioles, resulting in development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Here, we describe a patient with mixed connective tissue disease and severe, refractory PAH.

Her functional activity and hemodynamic parameters dramatically responded to tocilizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody to human IL-6 receptor, which was aimed at treating multicentric Castleman's disease.

It appears that IL-6 blockade may hold promise as an adjunct drug in treatment of PAH in idiopathic form as well as in association with connective tissue disease.