IL-6 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine upregulated in some autoimmune diseases. The role of IL-6 in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is unclear. Clinical studies are investigating whether tocilizumab (anti-IL-6 receptor) can help preserve beta cell function in patients recently diagnosed with T1D. However, in some rodent models and isolated human islets, IL-6 has been found to have a protective role for beta cells by reducing oxidative stress. Hence, we systematically investigated local tissue expression of IL-6 in human pancreas from non-diabetic, auto-antibody positive donors and donors with T1D and T2D. IL-6 was constitutively expressed by beta and alpha cells regardless of the disease state. However, expression of IL-6 was highly reduced in insulin-deficient islets of donors with T1D, and the expression was then mostly restricted to alpha cells. Our findings suggest that the implication of IL-6 in T1D pathogenesis might be more complex than previously assumed.

中文翻译：

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IL-6存在于人胰岛的β和α细胞中：在1型糖尿病患者中表达降低。

IL-6是在某些自身免疫性疾病中上调的促炎细胞因子。IL-6在1型糖尿病（T1D）发病中的作用尚不清楚。临床研究正在调查tocilizumab（抗IL-6受体）是否可以帮助维持最近诊断为T1D的患者的β细胞功能。但是，在某些啮齿动物模型和孤立的人类胰岛中，已发现IL-6通过降低氧化应激对β细胞具有保护作用。因此，我们系统地研究了非糖尿病，自身抗体阳性的供体以及患有T1D和T2D的供体在人胰腺中IL-6的局部组织表达。无论疾病状态如何，β-6和α细胞均组成型表达IL-6。但是，在患有T1D的捐助者的胰岛素缺乏型胰岛中，IL-6的表达高度降低，然后该表达主要限于α细胞。我们的发现表明，IL-6在T1D发病机制中的作用可能比以前假设的更为复杂。