Probing Interleukin-6 in Stroke Pathology and Neural Stem Cell Transplantation

Stem cell transplantation is historically understood as a powerful preclinical therapeutic following stroke models. Current clinical strategies including clot busting/retrieval are limited by their time windows (tissue plasminogen activator: 3–4 h) and inevitable reperfusion injuries. However, 24+ h post-stroke, stem cells reduce infarction size, improve neurobehavioral performance, and reduce inflammatory agents including interleukins. Typically, interleukin-6 (IL-6) is regarded as proinflammatory, and thus, preclinical studies often discuss it as beneficial for neurological recuperation when stem cells reduce IL-6′s expression. However, some studies have also demonstrated neurological benefit with upregulation of IL-6 or preconditioning of stem cells with IL-6. This review specifically focuses on stem cells and IL-6, and their occasionally disparate, occasionally synergistic roles in the setting of ischemic cerebrovascular insults.