The Role of Interleukin-6 in the Pathological Mechanisms of Schizophrenia

It is believed that schizophrenia may consist of an extremely heterogeneous group of phenotypes with different biological and neurochemical pathological mechanisms. At the same time, much attention is paid to the potential role of the immune system in the development of schizophrenia and, in particular, the participation of various cytokines in these processes. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the key regulators of inflammatory processes. A number of studies have previously reported changes in its levels in patients with schizophrenia. However, data on the specificity of these changes in the literature are much less documented and sometimes even contradictory. The dichotomous functioning of IL-6 may play a key role in the regulation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory processes. In this regard, the role of this cytokine in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia may depend on the phase of the disease and the context of the inflammatory process. The aim of this review was to analyze the role of IL-6 in the mechanisms of schizophrenia in detail, and its potential impacts on the course, diagnosis, and therapy of this disease.