Enhanced T cell responses to IL-6 in type 1 diabetes are associated with early clinical disease and increased IL-6 receptor expression

IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases. Here we show that IL-6 induced STAT3 and STAT1 phosphorylation is enhanced in CD4 and CD8 T cells from patients with T1D compared to healthy controls. Enhanced IL-6/pSTAT3 is associated with increased surface IL-6R and early clinical disease. The transcriptome of IL-6 treated CD4 T cells from T1D patients reveals upregulation of genes involved in T cell migration. The data suggest that individuals with type 1 diabetes may benefit from therapeutic targeting of the IL-6 pathway. CD4+CD25- T cells were purified from thawed PBMC of seven subjects with type 1 diabetes. Cells were left unstimulated or were treated with 10ng/ml IL-6 for 24 hours. RNA was extracted and RNA sequencing was performed.