New research indicates that tocilizumab limits the beneficial effects of exercise on abdominal fat loss. What does this mean for patients with chronic disease who are being treated with tocilizumab or other inhibitors of IL-6 signalling?
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Wedell-Neergaard, A.-S. et al. Exercise-induced changes in visceral adipose tissue mass are regulated by IL-6 signaling: a randomized controlled trial. Cell Metab. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2018.12.007 (2018).
Calabrese, L. H. & Rose-John, S. IL-6 biology: implications for clinical targeting in rheumatic disease. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 10, 720–727 (2014).
Pedersen, B. K. & Febbraio, M. A. Muscle as an endocrine organ: focus on muscle-derived interleukin-6. Physiol. Rev. 88, 1379–1406 (2008).
Muñoz-Cánoves, P. et al. Interleukin-6 myokine signaling in skeletal muscle: a double-edged sword? FEBS J. 280, 4131–4148 (2013).
Nurmohamed, M. T., Heslinga, M. & Kitas, G. D. Cardiovascular comorbidity in rheumatic diseases. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 11, 693–704 (2015).
Metsios, G. S. & Lemmey, A. Exercise as medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: effects on function, body composition, and cardiovascular disease risk. J. Clin. Ex. Physiol. 4, 14–22 (2015).
Summers, G. D. et al. Rheumatoid cachexia and cardiovascular disease. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 6, 445–451 (2010).
George, M. D. & Baker, J. F. The obesity epidemic and consequences for rheumatoid arthritis care. Curr. Rheumatol. Rep. 18, 6 (2016).
Pers, Y.-M. et al. Response to tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis is not influenced by the body mass index of the patient. J. Rheumatol. 42, 580–584 (2015).
Tournadre, A. et al. Changes in body composition and metabolic profile during interleukin 6 inhibition in rheumatoid arthritis. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 8, 639–646 (2017).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou, A., Kitas, G.D. Could IL-6 inhibition prevent exercise-induced fat loss in RA?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 15, 192–194 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-019-0189-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-019-0189-7