Vol.26 No.5（2004 October）：459-461

The Role of Interleukin-6 in Liver Regeneration

Huan Dou, Jing Gao*

（School of Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China）

Abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine exerting multiple biologic activities on different types of target cells. Recently increasing evidence showed that it plays an important role in liver regeneration. IL-6 and its signaling cascade trigger the process of liver regeneration at the priming phase, which is so essential that can not be neglected. In this review, we summarized the IL-6 involved mechanism underlying hepatic proliferation regulation, which will provide some new therapeutic targets for hepatic diseases.

Key words: IL-6; hepatocytes; liver regeneration

*Corresponding author. Tel: 86-25-83593374, Fax: 86-25-83686559, E-mail: jinggao@nju.edu.cn