IL-6, rat recombinant

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Background

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells, monocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, keratinocytes and macrophages, and plays an critical role in host defense by regulating immune and inflammatory responses. IL-6 stimulates B cell differentiation and antibody production, synergizes with IL-3 in megakaryocyte development and platelet production, induces expression of hepatic acute-phase proteins and regulates bone metabolism. Murine IL-6 is inactive on human cells, while both human and murine IL-6 are equally active on murine cells.
The rat IL-6 cDNA encodes a 211 aa protein with a 24 aa signal sequence. Recombinant rat IL-6 is a 21.7 kDa protein containing 187 amino acid residues. IL-6 is an endogenous pyrogen capable of inducing fever in people with autoimmune diseases or infections and is primarily produced at sites of acute and chronic inflammation, where it is secreted into the serum and induces a transcriptional inflammatory response through interleukin 6 receptor, alpha.