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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1465625
This article is part of the Research Topic The Role of Inflammation in Organ Injury View all articles

IL-6 and Diabetic Kidney Disease

Provisionally accepted
Lei Zhang Lei Zhang Futian Xu Futian Xu *Liyan Hou Liyan Hou *
  • Weihai Central Hospital, Weihai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a severe microvascular complication of diabetes associated with high mortality and disability rates. Inflammation has emerged as a key pathological mechanism in DKD, prompting interest in novel therapeutic approaches targeting inflammatory pathways. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a well-established inflammatory cytokine known for mediating various inflammatory responses, has attracted great attention in the DKD field. Although multiple in vivo and in vitro studies highlight the potential of targeting IL-6 in DKD treatment, its exact roles in the disease remains unclear. This review presents the roles of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of DKD, including immunoinflammation, metabolism, hemodynamics, and ferroptosis. In addition, we summarize the current status of IL-6 inhibitors in DKD-related clinical trials and discuss the potential of targeting IL-6 for treating DKD in the clinic.

    Keywords: IL-6, Inflammation, Diabetic kidney disease, IL-6 classical signaling, IL-6 trans-signaling pathway

    Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Xu and Hou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Futian Xu, Weihai Central Hospital, Weihai, China
    Liyan Hou, Weihai Central Hospital, Weihai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.