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Interleukin‐6 concentrations in the serum of patients with AIDS‐associated Kaposi's sarcoma during treatment with interferon‐alpha
Author(s) -
WIT R.,
RAASVELD M. H. M.,
BERGE R. J. M. TEN,
WOUW P. A.,
BAKKER P. J. M.,
VEENHOF C. H. N.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1991.tb00392.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sarcoma , pathogenesis , alpha interferon , cytokine , interferon alfa , interferon , immunopathology , kaposi's sarcoma , immunology , pathology , human herpesvirus
Abstract. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) levels were determined in the serum of 14 HIV‐1‐infected patients with Kaposi's sarcoma. 10 HIV‐1‐infected patients without symptoms, and 10 healthy male subjects. IL‐6 levels were also determined in the serum of the 14 patients with Kaposi's sarcoma during treatment with high‐dose human recombinant interferon‐alpha (IFNα). Serum IL‐6 levels were significantly higher in the patients with Kaposi's sarcoma than in the HIV‐infected patients without symptoms and the controls. There was no consistent pattern of changes of IL‐6 levels during IFNα treatment. These results support the view that IL‐6 is a cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of AIDS‐associated Kaposi's sarcoma, but appear to argue against an effect of IFNα on the production or release of IL‐6 as an important mechanism of action of IFNα.