THE SIGNIFICANCE OF URINARY INTERLEUKIN—6 IN PATIENTS WITH IgA NEPHROPATHY / 中华肾脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

Cytokines may play an important role in the development of IgA Nephropathy(IgAN). In this study, the levels of Interleukin—6(IL—6)activity in the urine and serum from 21 patients with IgAN were measured by using IL—6 dependent cell line, 7TD. IL—6 activities were detectable in both urine and serum in patients with IgAN(IL—6 detectable rate 47.6% and 25% respectively), while it was undetectable in normal volunteers. There was no correlationship between urinary and serum IL—6 activities. Also, we found that patients with elevated urinary IL—6 activity had heavy proteinuria and severe glomerular and tubular—interstitial histological changes. The results suggest that the measurement of IL—6 is useful in evaluating the degree of glomerular and interstitial damage in patients with IgAN.