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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1992 Jun 1;89(11):5068–5072. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.11.5068

Interleukin 6: insights to its function in skin by overexpression in transgenic mice.

K Turksen 1, T Kupper 1, L Degenstein 1, I Williams 1, E Fuchs 1
PMCID: PMC49230  PMID: 1375756

Abstract

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.

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Selected References

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