Ischemic Stroke Damage Is Reduced By Inhibition of Il-6 Signaling With to cilizumab
type: CreativeWork
description: Introduction: Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and is the 5th leading cause of death causing approximately 130,000 deaths in the United States every year {1}. Stroke is also the 2nd leading cause of death in American women {2}. Women are 33% more likely to require nursing home care then men, have a higher lifetime risk of stroke and are 13% less likely to receive thrombolytic (clot busting) treatment than men {2}. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in the regulation of the immune system in multiple disease states such as rheumatoid arthritis and contributes to increased inflammation. In stroke patients, higher plasma IL-6 levels correlate with increased stroke severity and poor long-term prognosis {3}. Preliminary work in our lab has shown that tocilizumab, an FDA approved immunosuppressive drug that blocks IL-6 receptors to inhibit the pro-inflammatory effects of IL-6, reduced infarct size in young male mice following ischemic stroke. Based on this promising preliminary data, we now hypothesize that tocilizumab will reduce injury in aged male and female mice. Methods: Experiments utilized aged (18-20 month) C57BL/6J male and female mice and examined neuroprotection and behavioral outcome after tocilizumab treatment. Mice were randomly assigned to the stroke or sham surgery group and then further subdivided into tocilizumab or IgG control treatment groups. Stroke was induced by 1 hour of transient right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) {6} under isoﬂurane anesthesia followed by reperfusion and then studied for 35 days. Four hours after the onset of ischemia, mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of either tocilizumab (20mg/1kg) or an IgG control antibody. Behavior tests evaluated sensorimotor deficits, locomotor activity, working memory, gait and spatial learning {6, 9}. Mice were sacrificed and brain atrophy assessed using cresyl violet staining. Results: Tocilizumab treatment reduced stroke damage …
abstract: Introduction: Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and is the 5th leading cause of death causing approximately 130,000 deaths in the United States every year {1}. Stroke is also the 2nd leading cause of death in American women {2}. Women are 33% more likely to require nursing home care then men, have a higher lifetime risk of stroke and are 13% less likely to receive thrombolytic (clot busting) treatment than men {2}. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in the regulation of the immune system in multiple disease states such as rheumatoid arthritis and contributes to increased inflammation. In stroke patients, higher plasma IL-6 levels correlate with increased stroke severity and poor long-term prognosis {3}. Preliminary work in our lab has shown that tocilizumab, an FDA approved immunosuppressive drug that blocks IL-6 receptors to inhibit the pro-inflammatory effects of IL-6, reduced infarct size in young male mice following ischemic stroke. Based on this promising preliminary data, we now hypothesize that tocilizumab will reduce injury in aged male and female mice. Methods: Experiments utilized aged (18-20 month) C57BL/6J male and female mice and examined neuroprotection and behavioral outcome after tocilizumab treatment. Mice were randomly assigned to the stroke or sham surgery group and then further subdivided into tocilizumab or IgG control treatment groups. Stroke was induced by 1 hour of transient right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) {6} under isoﬂurane anesthesia followed by reperfusion and then studied for 35 days. Four hours after the onset of ischemia, mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of either tocilizumab (20mg/1kg) or an IgG control antibody. Behavior tests evaluated sensorimotor deficits, locomotor activity, working memory, gait and spatial learning {6, 9}. Mice were sacrificed and brain atrophy assessed using cresyl violet staining. Results: Tocilizumab treatment reduced stroke damage …
author: Hudobenko, Jacob
author: 0000-0001-9064-4149
keywords: Ischemic stroke, interleukin-6, sex differences, aging, Medicine and Health Sciences, Neuroscience and Neurobiology, Translational Medical Research
date published: 2018-08-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:50:16Z
provider: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston