High levels of serum interleukin-6 are associated with disease activity in myasthenia gravis.

Abstract Myasthenia gravis (MG), a neuromuscular junction disorder, is caused by pathogenic autoantibodies. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays important roles in T helper 17 (Th17), T follicular helper (Tfh), and B cell activations as well as in antibody production. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of serum IL-6 level as a biomarker of disease activity in patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-positive MG. In the present study, serum IL-6 levels were measured in 93 treatment-naive patients with anti-AChR antibody-positive MG and compared with those in 101 controls. Moreover, correlations between serum IL-6 levels and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with anti-AChR antibody-positive MG than in controls (median [interquartile range], 2.5 [1.5–8.3] pg/mL vs. 1.5 [1.5–3.2] pg/mL, P