Plasma IL-18, IFN-<i>γ</i>, and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the AD group than in the NAD group, and the IL-18 levels were positively correlated with the IFN-<i>γ</i> and IL-6 levels.
Given that previous studies have reported the involvement of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 in AD pathogenesis, we investigated the role of signal transduction and activator of transcription 3 signaling, a downstream pathway of interleukin-6 in macrophages in pathogenesis of AD.
To examine the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), smooth muscle 22α (SM22α), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and their possible roles in aortic dissections (AD).