| First Author | Turksen K | Year | 1992 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 89 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 5068-72 |
| PubMed ID | 1375756 | Mgi Jnum | J:1133 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:49665 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.89.11.5068 |
| Citation | Turksen K, et al. (1992) Interleukin 6: insights to its function in skin by overexpression in transgenic mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 89(11):5068-72 |
| abstractText | Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that mediates a wide range of inflammatory and immune responses. Its expression is elevated in inflammatory or immunodeficient diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and AIDS. To explore the role of IL-6 in skin, we utilized a human keratin 14 (K14) promoter to express IL-6 in the basal cells of stratified squamous epithelia of transgenic mice. Mice expressing the K14-IL-6 transgene were smaller than normal and exhibited retarded hair growth. Surprisingly, IL-6 expression did not lead to enhanced epidermal proliferation, but it did result in a thicker stratum corneum, with an otherwise seemingly normal program of differentiation. IL-6 expression did not lead to leukocytic infiltration, making it unlikely that it has direct proinflammatory activity in skin. Based on this study, one role of IL-6 relevant to host defense may be to enhance the stratum corneum, thereby providing increased protection from injurious stimuli or infection. If IL-6 plays additional roles in the skin, it is likely to act synergistically with factors that IL-6 alone cannot induce. |
