All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has previously been shown to inhibit the growth of OPM-2 human myeloma cells. The growth inhibition was postulated to result from a transcriptional downregulation of interleukin-6 receptor a (IL-6Ra) with IL-6Rb (gp130) unaffected. To formally test this hypothesis, an expression vector designed for constitutive IL-6Ra expression was constructed and used for transf...

BACKGROUND Radiation pneumonia and subsequent radiation lung fibrosis are major dose-limiting complications for patients undergoing thoracic radiotherapy. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine and plays important roles in the regulation of immune response and inflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether anti-IL-6 monoclonal receptor antibody (IL-6RA) could amelior...

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma-cell malignancy characterized by the accumulation of malignant plasma cells within the bone marrow. Interleukin (IL)-6 is an essential survival and growth factor for myeloma cells that exerts its activity through a cell surface receptor composed of an 80-kDa ligand binding molecule (IL-6Ra) and a 130-kDa signal-transducing molecule. Of major interest, the solub...

Background: IL-6 is a proinflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokine to be very high in endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease, which are known risk factors for ectopic pregnancy(EP). The effects of IL-6 on target cells occur via the formation of a high-affinity complex with IL-6Ra that expressed in the cilia of the epithelial cells. In the present study,we compared expression of IL-6Ra i...

Background Managing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) has become a critical challenge with the increasing implementation of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer treatment. IrAEs may cause treatment interruption or discontinuation, rate which is higher multi-agent ICI regimen needed to overcome resistant tumor microenvironment. Herein, we describe our clinical experience using inter...

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multi-systemic inflammatory disorder consisting of recurrent oral aphthosis, genital ulcers, and chronic relapsing bilateral uveitis; however, many other organs may be affected. Several pro-inflammatory cytokines, mainly derived from Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes, seem to be involved in different pathogenic pathways leading to development of the clinical manifestations. On...

Possible strategies for treating ischaemic stroke include: (i) neuroprotection (preventing damaged neurons from undergoing apoptosis in the acute phase of cerebral ischaemia), and (ii) neurosupplementation (the repair of broken neuronal networks with newly born neurons in the chronic phase of cerebral ischaemia). In this paper, we review our recent progress in development of these distinct new ...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection significantly increases the risk of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) occurrence in individuals infected with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). KSHV infection appears to be necessary but not sufficient for KS development without other cofactors. However, factors that facilitate KSHV to cause KS have not been well defined. Previously, we de...