Discription：Interleukin-6 （IL-6） is encoded by the IL-6 gene and acts as both a pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine. IL-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays an important role in host defense by regulating immune and inflammatory responses. Produced by T cells, monocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and keratinocytes, IL-6 has diverse biological functions. It 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. IL-6 signals through the IL-6 receptor system that consists of two chains, IL-6R α and gp130. The rat IL-6 shares 40％ and 85％ aa sequence identity with human and mouse IL-6 and it is equally active on human and mouse cells. Recombinant Rat IL-6 is a 21.7kDa protein containing 187 amino acid.
