恶病质是一种消耗综合征，一半以上的癌症患者都有这种症状。癌症相关的恶病质对患者的生存及其生活质量产生负面影响。其特点是脂肪和骨骼肌组织迅速丧失，这部分是由炎症细胞因子介导的。在这里，我们探讨了白细胞介素 6 (IL-6) 家族细胞因子，包括 IL-6、白血病抑制因子和制瘤素 M，在癌症恶病质发展中的关键作用。这些细胞因子已被证明可以通过促进脂肪和肌肉组织的消耗、激活增强脂肪分解和蛋白水解的机制来加剧恶病质。 IL-6 家族细胞因子的重叠效应取决于 janus 激酶/信号转导器和转录 3 信号传导激活剂。我们认为，单独阻断这些细胞因子途径可能会因冗余而失败，未来的治疗方法应针对常见的下游元素，以产生有效的临床结果。© 2024 作者。约翰·威利 (John Wiley) 出版的 FEBS 期刊

Cachexia is a wasting syndrome that manifests in more than half of all cancer patients. Cancer-associated cachexia negatively influences the survival of patients and their quality of life. It is characterized by a rapid loss of adipose and skeletal muscle tissues, which is partly mediated by inflammatory cytokines. Here, we explored the crucial roles of interleukin-6 (IL-6) family cytokines, including IL-6, leukemia inhibitory factor, and oncostatin M, in the development of cancer cachexia. These cytokines have been shown to exacerbate cachexia by promoting the wasting of adipose and muscle tissues, activating mechanisms that enhance lipolysis and proteolysis. Overlapping effects of the IL-6 family cytokines depend on janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling. We argue that the blockade of these cytokine pathways individually may fail due to redundancy and future therapeutic approaches should target common downstream elements to yield effective clinical outcomes.© 2024 The Author(s). The FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.