PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - K Mitsuyama
AU  - A Toyonaga
AU  - E Sasaki
AU  - O Ishida
AU  - H Ikeda
AU  - O Tsuruta
AU  - K Harada
AU  - H Tateishi
AU  - T Nishiyama
AU  - K Tanikawa
TI  - Soluble interleukin-6 receptors in inflammatory bowel disease: relation to circulating interleukin-6.
AID  - 10.1136/gut.36.1.45
DP  - 1995 Jan 01
TA  - Gut
PG  - 45--49
VI  - 36
IP  - 1
4099  - http://gut.bmj.com/content/36/1/45.short
4100  - http://gut.bmj.com/content/36/1/45.full
SO  - Gut1995 Jan 01; 36
AB  - The in vivo appearance of soluble interleukin (IL)-6 receptor (sIL-6R) in serum from patients with inflammatory bowel disease was examined using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serum sIL-6R concentrations in patients with active disease (ulcerative colitis, 148.4 (5.1); Crohn's disease, 142.3 (9.3) ng/ml; mean (SEM)) were significantly raised compared with those in patients with inactive disease (ulcerative colitis, 116.2 (7.2); Crohn's disease, 114.3 (7.1) ng/ml), some other type of colitis (104.8 (11.6) ng/ml), or in normal subjects (107.3 (2.4) ng/ml). These differences were also seen in paired samples examined during both active and inactive phases. Additionally, serum sIL-6R and IL-6 concentrations correlated significantly with C-reactive protein levels in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients (r = 0.23 and 0.56, respectively; p < 0.05 for both). Furthermore, gel filtration analysis of serum from these patients showed two major peaks of immunoreactive IL-6-one peak corresponding to free IL-6 and another peak to sIL-6R-bound IL-6-this was further confirmed by a luminescence sandwich ELISA. These results, together with its in vitro effects, indicate that natural sIL-6R may function as a powerful enhancer of the IL-6-dependent immune processes observed in inflammatory bowel disease.