Blocking the IL-6 pathway can extend the time of immunotherapy for liver cancer and reduce side effects

Researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas looked at the cellular pathways formed by IL-6 activated JAK1 enzymes, as well as anti-IL-6 antibodies and anti-T-cell immunoglobulin viscoprotein-3 (anti-Tim-3) to enhance the potential for immunotherapyThe study found that blocking the IL-6 pathway extends the duration of immunotherapy and reduces side effectsThe findings are published online in journal of clinical investigationdoi/10.1172/JCI126022
researchers observed the correlation between IL-6 and PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue in 183 liver cancer patients and found that PD-L1 expression was also elevated in patients with high IL-6 expressionPrevious studies by MD Anderson have reported that high IL-6 levels are associated with poor prognosis in liver cancer patientsThe team's new findings suggest that il-6 has a "physiological and clinical correlation" with the expression of PD-L1 in liver cancer"We also found that the IL-6/JAK1 pathway promotes PD-L1 phosphorylation, which appears to be the main driver of cancer immune escape in mouse models of liver cancer,""Overall, these findings may provide a potential mechanism for how activated JAK1 can be transferred to other cellular regions and provide a basis for further research in the future," said Li-Chuan Chan, the study's lead author"Thus, it is clarified that this mechanism can provide biomarkers for improving the clinical effectiveness of current anti-PD-1 / PD-L1 therapy or new marker-guided combination immunotherapy."study also noted the possible benefits of reducing side effects of immunotherapy, such as sometimes reducing the length of time patients can continue treatmentBecause immunocheckpoint inhibitors have been shown to stimulate the production of IL-6 serum, which can cause arthritis, Crohn's disease and psoriasis dermatitisThus, blocking the IL-6 pathway can solve these side effects, prolonging immunotherapyreferences:the new biomarker-guided has for the strategy liver cancer treatment2-6/JAK1 blocking the blocker-pD-L1 Y112 phosphorylation to cancer cancer new potential for treatment