TY - JOUR T1 - Blockade of Interleukin 6 Signaling Induces Marked Neutropenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 459 LP - 459 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.080930 VL - 36 IS - 2 AU - ICHIRO NAKAMURA AU - YASUNORI OMATA AU - MASASHI NAITO AU - KATSUMI ITO Y1 - 2009/02/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/36/2/459.abstract N2 - Therapies aimed at inhibiting interleukin 6 (IL-6), a pleiotropic cytokine implicated in the immune response, inflammation, hematopoiesis, and bone metabolism, are effective for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1,2. We have found that a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab; Chugai, Japan) induced prompt and potent suppression of neutrophil recruitment into peripheral blood in patients with RA. One day after tocilizumab (8 mg/kg) was first administered to patients with active RA, the number of neutrophils in peripheral blood decreased significantly (Figure 1 … Address reprint requests to Dr. Nakamura; E-mail: ichiclast{at}yugawara-hosp.com ER -