Interleukin–6 plays a central role in the hepatic erythropoietin expression during acute phase response: Analysis of two murine models

Introduction: Erythropoietin (EPO) serum level is increased under acute-phase conditions.The source of circulating EPO and the mediators involved in the upregulation of EPO-gene-expression are still poorly understood. Methods. Acute phase reaction was induced either by intramuscular turpentine oil (TO) or intraperitoneal LPS injection into wild type or IL-6 knockout (KO) mice. Animals were sacrificed at different time points and blood and liver were collected. Serum levels of erythropoietin were measured by ELISA; liver and injured muscle samples were processed for RNA isolation and for protein analysis. EPO, HI…