Interleukin-3 and Interleukin-6 Stimulate Cortisol Secretion from Adult Human Adrenocortical Cells

Accumulating data indicate that interleukins can activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We evaluated the effect of human recombinant interleukin-3 (IL-3) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) on cortisol secretion from adult human adrenocortical cells in primary culture. IL-3 and IL-6 (100 microg/L) equipotently stimulated basal cortisol secretion approximately 5-fold. The stimulatory effect was significant after 12 h (p<0.01) and maximum...