IL-6 induces regionally selective spinal cord injury in patients with the neuroinflammatory disorder transverse myelitis.

ABSTRACT: Transverse myelitis (TM) is an immune-mediated spinal cord disorder associated with inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage. We investigated the soluble immune derangements present in TM patients and found that IL-6 levels were selectively and dramatically elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid and directly correlated with markers of tissue injury and sustained clinical disability. IL-6 was necessary and sufficient to mediate cellular injury in spinal cord organotypic tissue culture sections through activation of the JAK/STAT pathway, resulting in increased activity of iNOS and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Rats intrathecally infused with IL-6 developed progressive weakness and spinal cord inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage, which were blocked by PARP inhibition. Addi

SUBMITTER: Kaplin AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1224298 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature