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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 61:575-584 (2006)
© 2006 The Gerontological Society of America

REVIEW ARTICLE

Interleukin-6 in Aging and Chronic Disease: A Magnificent Pathway

Marcello Maggio, Jack M. Guralnik, Dan L. Longo and Luigi Ferrucci

1 Clinical Research Branch, Longitudinal Studies Section, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
2 Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland.

Address correspondence to Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD, National Institute on Aging, NIH, NIA-ASTRA Unit at Harbor Hospital, 3001 S. Hanover Street, Baltimore, MD 21225. E-Mail: ferruccilu{at}grc.nia.nih.gov

The human interleukin IL-6 was originally cloned in 1986. In 1993, William Ershler, in his article "IL-6: A Cytokine for Gerontologists," indicated IL-6 as one of the main signaling pathways modulating the complex relationship between aging and chronic morbidity. Over the last 12 years, our understanding of the role of IL-6 in human physiology and pathology has substantially grown, although some of the questions originally posed by Ershler are still debated. In this review, we will focus on IL-6 structure, IL-6 signaling, and trans signaling pathways, and the role of IL-6 in geriatric syndromes and chronic disease. In the final section of this review, we dissect the critical elements of the IL-6 signaling pathway and point out targets for intervention that are targeted by emerging drugs, some still on the horizon and others already being tested in clinical trials.




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