Interleukin 6

IL6
Available structures
PDB	Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB
List of PDB id codes
	4O9H, 1ALU, 1IL6, 1P9M, 2IL6, 4CNI, 4J4L, 4NI7, 4NI9, 4ZS7
Identifiers
Aliases	IL6, BSF2, HGF, HSF, IFNB2, IL-6, BSF-2, CDF, IFN-beta-2, interleukin 6
External IDs	OMIM: 147620; MGI: 96559; HomoloGene: 502; GeneCards: IL6; OMA:IL6 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 7 (human)
End	22,732,002 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 5 (mouse)
End	30,224,979 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	cartilage tissue; ; vena cava; ; gallbladder; ; left uterine tube; ; gonad; ; smooth muscle tissue; ; mucosa of urinary bladder; ; upper lobe of left lung; ; islet of Langerhans; ; testicle;
	Top expressed in
	embryo; ; stroma of bone marrow; ; blastocyst; ; endothelial cell of lymphatic vessel; ; spermatocyte; ; spermatid; ; granulocyte; ; lumbar spinal ganglion; ; islet of Langerhans; ; atrioventricular valve;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	cytokine activity; growth factor activity; interleukin-6 receptor binding; protein binding;
Cellular component	extracellular region; interleukin-6 receptor complex; extracellular space; endoplasmic reticulum lumen;
Biological process	regulation of angiogenesis; positive regulation of translation; platelet activation; humoral immune response; defense response to virus; response to peptidoglycan; neuron projection development; defense response to Gram-positive bacterium; negative regulation of fat cell differentiation; positive regulation of peptidyl-serine phosphorylation; positive regulation of leukocyte chemotaxis; positive regulation of T cell proliferation; positive regulation of interleukin-6 production; positive regulation of peptidyl-tyrosine phosphorylation; positive regulation of acute inflammatory response; inflammatory response; negative regulation of collagen biosynthetic process; positive regulation of MAPK cascade; hepatic immune response; monocyte chemotaxis; positive regulation of DNA-binding transcription factor activity; negative regulation of apoptotic process; positive regulation of osteoblast differentiation; positive regulation of NF-kappaB transcription factor activity; acute-phase response; immune response; regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor production; positive regulation of chemokine production; negative regulation of lipid storage; neutrophil mediated immunity; positive regulation of smooth muscle cell proliferation; positive regulation of type B pancreatic cell apoptotic process; response to glucocorticoid; defense response to Gram-negative bacterium; positive regulation of cell population proliferation; positive regulation of apoptotic process; positive regulation of B cell activation; post-translational protein modification; regulation of signaling receptor activity; positive regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT protein; neutrophil apoptotic process; negative regulation of cell population proliferation; positive regulation of gene expression; endocrine pancreas development; negative regulation of bone resorption; positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; glucagon secretion; cellular response to hydrogen peroxide; cellular response to lipopolysaccharide; T-helper 17 cell lineage commitment; positive regulation of T-helper 2 cell cytokine production; negative regulation of interleukin-1-mediated signaling pathway; cytokine-mediated signaling pathway; interleukin-6-mediated signaling pathway; positive regulation of receptor signaling pathway via JAK-STAT; signal transduction;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	3569
	16193
	ENSG00000136244
	ENSMUSG00000025746
	P05231
	P08505
	NM_000600; NM_001318095; NM_001371096
	NM_031168; NM_001314054
	NP_000591; NP_001305024; NP_001358025
	NP_001300983; NP_112445
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is an interleukin that acts as both a pro-inflammatory cytokine and an anti-inflammatory myokine. In humans, it is encoded by the IL6 gene.

In addition, osteoblasts secrete IL-6 to stimulate osteoclast formation. Smooth muscle cells in the tunica media of many blood vessels also produce IL-6 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine. IL-6's role as an anti-inflammatory myokine is mediated through its inhibitory effects on TNF and IL-1 and its activation of IL-1ra and IL-10.

There is some early evidence that IL-6 can be used as an inflammatory marker for severe COVID-19 infection with poor prognosis, in the context of the wider coronavirus pandemic.