An unlikely relationship has recently been discovered and is making headlines in medical journals. Inflammation and obesity are rarely spoken of in the same sentence. Yet, unbeknownst to even the most vigilant scientist, fat cells have been using the information network of the inflammatory system to secretly conduct sabotage against our bodies.
 Inflammation refers to the body’s response to damage, infection or anything recognized as being irritating or foreign (poison ivy, a splinter, transplanted organs or even one’s own organs if they suffer from an autoimmune disorder like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis). Damaged cells release chemical signals that attract white blood cells, which either attack the damaged or foreign cells directly or label them for removal by filtering organs (thymus, spleen, etc.). Many of the chemical messengers are components of a class of molecules called cytokines. Among the many cytokines is one that has been the subject of a great deal of research called interleukin-6 (IL-6).

Vital to Overall Health
 IL-6 is one of the first cytokines of the inflammatory signal cascade, stimulating the release of further cytokines. It’s commonly been referred to as a pro-inflammatory cytokine as it’s one of the earliest responders to an inflammatory situation. As is often the case, as scientists learn more about IL-6, they discover how little they actually know.
 In addition to promoting inflammation in certain settings, IL-6 also has anti-inflammatory actions. The difference often lies in the tissues releasing or responding to IL-6 and the time course of the inflammatory event. For example, when the body first recognizes an infection, IL-6 amplifies the immune response to the offending agent (bacteria, bullet, etc.). This was believed to be the sole physiologic effect of IL-6 until later research determined that various cells respond to the cytokine (IL-6) in different ways depending on the type of tissue involved and even the metabolic state. IL-6 also stimulates the release of anti-inflammatory components, such as IL-1Ra.

 It’s not overly surprising that the body maintains a balance in a system as vital to overall health as the immune/inflammatory system. If the immune system is suppressed (as may happen with overtraining, extreme weight loss, corticosteroids such as prednisone, cancer, AIDS or age) then the body becomes more susceptible to many diseases and infections, including viral infections, sepsis and certain cancers.
 When the immune system is overly active, the body isn’t necessarily hyper-protected because it’s not like putting on extra layers of clothes. Instead, the immune system may become an angry mob and look for something else to attack, often the host itself (your body). This is what happens in the case of autoimmune diseases, many of which are familiar even if they’re not understood as being examples of the body turning against itself. Several forms of arthritis are autoimmune disorders— rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, as well as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and certain thyroid disorders.