IL-6 is induced often together with the proinflammatory
cytokines TNFalpha and
IL-1 in many alarm conditions, and circulating
IL-6 plays an important role in the induction of acute phase reactions. However, whether this endogenous
IL-6 plays any additional pro- or antiinflammatory roles in local or systemic responses remains unclear. In this study, the role of
IL-6 in acute inflammatory responses was investigated in animal models of endotoxic lung or
endotoxemia by using IL-6+/+ and IL-6-/- mice.
Aerosol exposure of
endotoxin induced increased
IL-6 and proinflammatory
cytokines TNFalpha and MIP-2 and a neutrophilic response in the lung of IL-6+/+ mice. However, the levels of
TNFalpha and MIP-2 and neutrophilia were significantly higher in the lung of IL-6-/- mice. The rate of neutrophil apoptosis in these mice was similar to that in IL-6+/+ mice. A low constitutive level of antiinflammatory
cytokine IL-10 was not enhanced by
endotoxin and remained similar in the lung in both IL-6+/+ and IL-6-/- mice. Systemically, intraperitoneal delivery of
endotoxin resulted in much more pronounced circulating levels of
TNFalpha, MIP-2,
GM-CSF, and IFNgamma in IL-6-/- mice than in IL-6+/+ mice, and administration of recombinant
IL-6 to IL-6-/- mice abolished these differences. In contrast, circulating
IL-10 levels were induced to a similar degree in both IL-6+/+ and IL-6-/- mice. Thus, our studies reveal that endogenous
IL-6 plays a crucial antiinflammatory role in both local and systemic acute inflammatory responses by controlling the level of proinflammatory, but not antiinflammatory,
cytokines, and that these antiinflammatory activities by
IL-6 cannot be compensated for by
IL-10 or other
IL-6 family members.