Genetic variants that mimic the inhibition of IL-6 associated with lower cardiovascular risk

People with lower interleukin-6 activity have a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, reveals a new LMU study.

The decrease in the activity of interleukin -6 (IL -6) – a basic immune signal that regulates inflammatory responses to the body – could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease without making people more vulnerable to infections, according to the new research of the LMU Institute.

The team led by Dr. Marios Georgakis, Junior team leader at the Institute of Brain and Dementia Research (ISD) and a member of the Association of Excellence, used large-scale human genetic analysis to imitate the effects of drugs that prevent IL-6. Previous genetic studies had focused on variants in the IL6R gene, which codes the IL-6 itself, but on the corresponding receptor. “These studies suggest that the suppression of the IL-6 receptor could be associated with cardiovascular benefits, but raised concerns about the increased risk of infection,” Georgakis explains. Whether these findings would be translated into under-representation drugs that directly inhibit the IL-6 remained unclear. And so LMU researchers turned their attention to genes encoding IL-6.

In the new study, published in Cardiovascular research of natureThey analyzed genetic data of over half a million people of European and Eastern Asian descent. They found that people carrying variations in the IL6 gene associated with the lower IL-6 signal had a reduced risk of life in coronary heart disease, stroke and regional disease. Impressively, these variants were also associated with a lower risk of pneumonia and septicemia – offsetting fears that IL -6 preventing the body’s ability to fight infections.

Our study shows that genetic variants that mimic the inhibition of IL-6 are associated with a lower cardiovascular risk and, possibly, even with a lower risk of specific infections. “

Lanyue Zhang, first writer of paper

“Our findings emphasize how human genetics can be used to predict the benefits and dangers of new therapies. The results support both the efficiency and security potential of IL-6 inhibitors in clinical trials for cardiovascular disease,” says Georgakis. Genetics also pointed out possible improvements in the risk of type 2 diabetes and lipid profiles, implying the wider metabolic benefits.