Interleukin 6 Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is cytokine involved in the regulation of the immune and inflammatory response. IL6 also contributes to other processes including hematopoiesis, metabolism, and organ development. Disruption or attenuation of IL-6 signaling may contribute to a autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, metabolic abnormalities, osteoporosis and malignancies. After interaction with the IL6 receptor, IL6 exerts its effects through a signaling cascade leading to the activation of the JAK/STAT and MAPK pathways. The result is transcriptional activation of a number or genes. The IL6 signaling primer library contains 88 primer sets involved in key aspects of these cellular processes and enables one to gain insight into the role of this pathway in a particular cellular context.