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. 1991 Aug;85(2):302–306. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1991.tb05723.x

Increased spontaneous secretion of IL-6 from B cells of patients with B chronic lymphatic leukaemia (B-CLL) and autoimmunity.

N Lahat 1, E Aghai 1, B Maroun 1, A Kinarty 1, M Quitt 1, P Froom 1
PMCID: PMC1535733  PMID: 1864011

Abstract

We studied B cells from 18 patients with B-CLL, six of them with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, for spontaneous secretion of IL-6. Our aim was to determine whether the increased incidence of autoimmune disease found in B-CLL patients is associated with enhanced spontaneous IL-6 secretion. IL-6 was measured by the effect of B cell supernatants on the proliferation of an IL-6 dependent plasmacytoma cell line T1165. The highest IL-6 values (7.4 +/- 1.8 U/ml) were measured in supernatants derived on day 3 of culture from lymphocytes of the six patients with B-CLL and concomitant autoimmune disease. The maximal IL-6 values for 10 patients with B-CLL only were 2.8 +/- 0.3 U/ml and for 10 age-matched controls, 0.8 +/- 0.3 U/ml (P less than 0.01, each group compared with the other). We conclude that there is an association between B-CLL, autoimmune disease and the spontaneous in vitro secretion of IL-6. Further studies are needed to determine whether the IL-6 secretion plays a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease in patients with B-CLL.

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Selected References

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