Identification of a receptor binding site in the carboxyl terminus of human interleukin-6

To identify a receptor binding site of human interleukin-6 (IL-6), we created a library of IL-6 variants with single amino acid substitutions in the last 15 residues (171-185) in the COOH terminus of IL-6. Twenty-seven IL-6 variants were tested for biological activity on a human hepatoma and a mouse hybridoma cell line. Most variants were additionally tested in a receptor binding assay using a human myeloma cell line. Several single amino acid substitutions in the COOH terminus of IL-6 were found to decrease biological activity significantly. This is especially seen in variants with amino acid substitutions that alter the postulated amphipathical alpha-helix structure between residues 178 and 183. The two highly conserved Arg residues at positions 180 and 183 seem to play a very important role in biological activity. The loss of biological activity in all inactive variants is completely paralleled by a decrease of IL-6 receptor binding, as determined by competition binding experiments. One mutant (Leu171) displayed a higher activity on human cells and a higher binding affinity to the receptor and can be considered an IL-6 agonist. It is concluded that the amphipathical alpha-helix structure in the COOH terminus of IL-6 is critical for ligand receptor interaction. Furthermore, the region between residues Ser178 and Arg183 (Ser-Leu-Arg-Ala-X-Arg) is identified as a receptor binding site in the COOH terminus of human IL-6.