Entity Detail — Knowledge Graph Node
This page aggregates everything SciDEX knows about IL-6: its mechanistic relationships (Knowledge Graph edges), hypotheses targeting it, analyses mentioning it, and supporting scientific papers. The interactive graph below shows its immediate neighbors. All content is AI-synthesized from peer-reviewed literature.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory functions, central to neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration. In the brain, IL-6 is produced by microglia, astrocytes, and neurons, signaling through classical (membrane-bound IL-6R) and trans-signaling (soluble IL-6R + gp130) pathways. Elevated IL-6 in CSF and plasma is associated with AD, PD, and cognitive decline. Chronic IL-6 trans-signaling drives neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, and impaired neurogenesis. However, acute IL-6 classical signaling supports neuroprotection and neuronal survival. Therapeutic strategies focus on selective trans-signaling inhibition (sgp130Fc) to block pathological inflammation while preserving protective signaling.
| Gene Symbol | IL |
| Function | Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in the innate immune response and neuroinflammation. |
| GeneCards | IL |
| Human Protein Atlas | IL |
| Associated Diseases | CRC |
| KG Connections | 1 knowledge graph edges |
| Databases | GeneCardsUniProtNCBI GeneHPASTRING |
Knowledge base pages for this entity
graph TD
IL_6["IL-6"]
IL_6 -->|"phosphorylates"| BECN1["BECN1"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| A1_reactive_astrocyte["A1 reactive astrocyte"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| STAT3["STAT3"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| Alzheimer_s_disease["Alzheimer's disease"]
IL_6 -->|"interacts"| MMP9["MMP9"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| neurodegeneration["neurodegeneration"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| BACE1["BACE1"]
IL_6 -->|"activates"| NF_B["NFkappaB"]
STAT3 -->|"regulates"| IL_6
BMSC_exos["BMSC-exos"] -->|"regulates"| IL_6
Hippo["Hippo"] -->|"regulates"| IL_6
cGas_STING_pathway["cGas/STING pathway"] -->|"regulates"| IL_6
donepezil["donepezil"] -->|"inhibits"| IL_6
IL6["IL6"] -->|"target for"| IL_6
MMP9 -->|"target for"| IL_6| Target | Relation | Type | Str |
|---|---|---|---|
| STAT3 | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF-Α | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| Inflammation | inhibits | disease | 1.00 |
| TNF-Α | expressed_in | gene | 1.00 |
| Inflammation | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Alzheimer | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Neuroinflammation | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Mapk | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| Als | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Tumor | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Nf-Κb | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| Als | inhibits | disease | 1.00 |
| Tumor | inhibits | disease | 1.00 |
| Nf-Κb | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| TNF-Α | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| Apoptosis | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| Immune Response | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| Oxidative Stress | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| TNF-Α | regulates | gene | 1.00 |
| Inflammation | regulates | disease | 1.00 |
| Inflammation | therapeutic_target | disease | 1.00 |
| TNF | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| CANCER | therapeutic_target | gene | 1.00 |
| Cancer | therapeutic_target | disease | 1.00 |
| Autophagy | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| Als | therapeutic_target | disease | 1.00 |
| Aging | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Depression | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Apoptosis | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| TNF-Α | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| Autophagy | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| Neurodegeneration | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Autoimmune | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | therapeutic_target | gene | 1.00 |
| Senescence | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Fibrosis | inhibits | disease | 1.00 |
| Tumor | associated_with | disease | 1.00 |
| Inflammasome | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| Oxidative Stress | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| Inflammation | associated_with | disease | 1.00 |
| Tumor | therapeutic_target | disease | 1.00 |
| Als | associated_with | disease | 1.00 |
| Diabetes | therapeutic_target | disease | 1.00 |
| TNF | expressed_in | gene | 1.00 |
| Mapk | inhibits | pathway | 1.00 |
| Lipid Metabolism | activates | pathway | 1.00 |
| TNF | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| Obesity | activates | disease | 1.00 |
| Source | Relation | Type | Str |
|---|---|---|---|
| STAT3 | activates | protein | 1.00 |
| PI3K | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | expressed_in | gene | 1.00 |
| NF-ΚB | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| CYTOKINES | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| NF-ΚB | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| STAT3 | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| CYTOKINES | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | regulates | gene | 1.00 |
| CYTOKINES | regulates | gene | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | therapeutic_target | gene | 1.00 |
| TNF | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| CYTOKINES | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| NEURODEGENERATION | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| ALZHEIMER | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| PARKINSON'S DISEASE | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| PARKINSON | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| OXIDATIVE STRESS | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| NLRP3 | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| OXIDATIVE STRESS | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| ROS | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE | associated_with | disease | 1.00 |
| AMYLOID | associated_with | protein | 1.00 |
| IL-1B | associated_with | gene | 1.00 |
| ASTROCYTES | associated_with | cell_type | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | inhibits | gene | 1.00 |
| PI3K | therapeutic_target | gene | 1.00 |
| PI3K | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| INFLAMMATION | regulates | gene | 1.00 |
| IL6 | activates | gene | 1.00 |
| CYTOKINES | implicated_in | gene | 1.00 |
| NF-ΚB | regulates | gene | 1.00 |
| STAT3 | therapeutic_target | gene | 1.00 |
| AKT | associated_with | gene | 0.98 |
| CASP3 | associated_with | gene | 0.98 |
| ITGA2B | upregulates | gene | 0.95 |
| astrocytes | expresses | cell_type | 0.95 |
| PD-L1 | promotes | protein | 0.95 |
| cancer therapies | upregulates | drug | 0.95 |
| MKRN2 | inhibits | protein | 0.95 |
| PSAP | upstream_of | protein | 0.95 |
| Berberine | inhibits | compound | 0.95 |
| HSYA | downregulates | compound | 0.95 |
| Musk | downregulates | drug | 0.95 |
| RARγ | inhibits | protein | 0.92 |
| chemotherapy | upregulates | drug | 0.92 |
| ZBP1 | inhibits | protein | 0.92 |
Hypotheses where this entity is a therapeutic target
| Hypothesis | Score | Disease | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL-6 Trans-Signaling Blockade at the Oligodendrocyte-Microgl | 0.632 | neuroinflammation | How do oligodendrocytes initiate neuroin |
Scientific analyses that reference this entity
neurodegeneration | 2026-04-16 | 7 hypotheses Top: 0.780
neuroinflammation | 2026-04-13 | 2 hypotheses Top: 0.632
clinical neurology | 2026-04-08 | 0 hypotheses
neurodegeneration | 2026-04-04 | 0 hypotheses
neurodegeneration | 2026-04-04 | 0 hypotheses
Experimental studies targeting or related to this entity
| Experiment | Type | Disease | Score | Feasibility | Model | Status | Est. Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No experiments found | |||||||
Scientific publications cited in analyses involving this entity
| Title & PMID | Authors | Journal | Year | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No papers found | ||||