Raft platforms highly enriched in cholesterol: major scaffolds for IL-6 signalling assembly with implications in inflammation and cancer

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with complex and major roles in inflammation, which could be linked to the different ways IL-6 signals at the plasma membrane. In this issue of FEBS Journal, Woo and co-workers present evidence for the involvement of Eps15 homology domain-containing protein 1 (EHD1)-mediated lipid raft platforms, highly enriched in cholesterol, in the IL-6 signalling pathway. Because of the strong connection between IL-6, inflammation and cancer, one implication of this report is that agents or approaches targeting cholesterol-rich raft platforms may assist the development of novel strategies to treat inflammatory and malignant diseases. Comment on: https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.16458.

Keywords: cancer; cell signalling; cholesterol; cholesterol-rich raft platforms; inflammation; interleukin-6; lipid raft; therapeutic target.