Direct Interleukin-6 Inhibition Blunts Arterial Thrombosis by Reducing Collagen-Mediated Platelet Activation
Recent clinical trials have shown that treatment with the anti–IL-6 (interleukin 6) monoclonal antibody ziltivekimab leads to a reduction in biomarkers of thrombosis and inflammation in patients at very high cardiovascular risk. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms by which direct IL-6 inhibition might produce antithrombotic effects remain unclear.
A translational study by Dr. Stefano Ministrini and colleagues from the CMC set out to examine how direct IL-6 inhibition influences experimental arterial thrombus formation and the cellular mechanisms involved. The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB), and reports that IL-6 inhibition reduces thrombus formation by attenuating collagen-induced platelet activation. These results may provide a mechanistic explanation for findings from the RESCUE trial and lend support to the ongoing ZEUS trial (Ziltivekimab Cardiovascular Outcome Study).
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Florian Wenzl