Interleukin-6 receptor shedding: a possible role for members of the ADAM family.

Introduction Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that was originally identified as a factor that could induce B lymphocytes to differentiate into immunoglobulin-producing plasma cells [ 11. Subsequent studies have shown IL-6 to be a multifunctional cytokine that is produced by, and can affect, a range of different cells [2,3]. IL-6 is the original member of a family of cytokines that now include leukaemia inhibitory factor, interleukin 1 1, oncostatin M, ciliary neurotropic factor and cardiotrophin 1. The receptors for these molecules share a common signal transducing component, which accounts for their overlapping biological activities.