Inflammatory signaling linked to leukemia progression (Reduce IL-6)

Medical Xpress / Northwestern University / Journal of Clinical Investigation ^ | August 16, 2022 | Kevin McCullough / Yang Mei et al

[ConservativeMind]

An inflammatory signaling protein called interleukin-6 has been linked to the progression of acute myeloid leukemia, according to a study.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are aging-related disorders in which the body produces blood cells ineffectively, which carries the risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia. While the increased risk of leukemia from MDS has been well-established, the exact mechanisms behind the progression, especially in relationship to aging, have been poorly understood.

"We are surprised to find that IL-6, among many other inflammatory signaling proteins, plays an essential role in MDS to AML progression during aging" said Peng Ji, MD, Ph.D., GME.

The authors investigated mice that had been engineering to develop a condition that closely mimics MDS. Observing the progression of disease, the scientists found that as the mice with MDS aged, they progressed to acute myeloid leukemia, and furthermore, a signaling protein known as interleukin-6 (IL-6) played a pivotal role in that progression.

Noting that the presence of IL-6 was strongly increased in the mice with MDS, the authors investigated what happened when IL-6 was also genetically removed from the mice. They found that the progression of MDS to leukemia was significantly reduced.

Based on the findings in mice, the authors investigated the bone marrow of human patients with MDS, and found that expression of two types of receptors for IL-6 were notably increased in high-risk MDS patients, but not in patients with a lower risk of progressing to acute myeloid leukemia.

The authors then used cells derived from patients with MDS, and treated them with tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody against one of the IL-6 receptors which is used clinically to treat rheumatoid arthritis. After treatment, the cells showed reduced cell proliferation and clonogenicity—the propensity for a cell to clone itself and grow into a colony of similar cells.

[ConservativeMind]

Although this speaks to using a monoclonal antibody against IL-6 receptors, there are supplements, mostly antioxidants, that also greatly reduce IL-6.

Among them are GlyNAC, curcumin, grapeseed extract, lycopene, boron, and magnesium, just to name a few.

As a rule, I would personally rather not use an antibody against a needed process, over using something controllable on a daily basis, if still effective for the condition.

[ConservativeMind]

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[HollyB]

MDS is a pre-AML leukemia disorder. Someone can have MDS for years. Which is different than AML, which comes presents within weeks to a couple of months. I never had any IL-6 markers.
There is a tumor marker LDH which elevates. Mine was close to 7K at diagnosis of AML. Normal marker level’s are under 350