# IL6ST

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/il6st/  
OnCo record `il6st` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

IL6ST (Interleukin-6 receptor subunit beta) is a gene that drives cell growth when it is altered. The public catalogues list it as an oncogene driver and a tumour suppressor, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Hepatocellular carcinoma, Prostate cancer, Colorectal cancer and 1 more.

## Summary

Functions as a shared signal-transducing subunit not only for IL6 but also for other cytokine receptor complexes, including IL6, LIF, OSM, CNTF, IL11, CTF1, BSF3, MT-RNR2/humanin, CLCF1 and the heterodimeric complex CRLF1-CLCF1. Engages site 2 of CNTF, CLCF1, LIF, and IL-6, and site 3 of IL27 and IL6. Initiates signal transmission through three mechanisms.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.67 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes affected pathway 0.31, literature 0.95, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.85, animal model 0.57). IntOGen calls it a driver in 4 cohorts (2 activating, 1 loss-of-function), covering Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Prostate Adenocarcinoma, Prostate.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: interleukin 6 cytokine family signal transducer; Interleukin-6 receptor subunit beta; GP130; CD130; sGP130; IL-6RB
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: IL6ST
- Class: oncogene
- Biology: Functions as a shared signal-transducing subunit not only for IL6 but also for other cytokine receptor complexes, including IL6, LIF, OSM, CNTF, IL11, CTF1, BSF3, MT-RNR2/humanin, CLCF1 and the heterodimeric complex CRLF1-CLCF1. Engages site 2 of CNTF, CLCF1, LIF, and IL-6, and site 3 of IL27 and IL6. Initiates signal transmission through three mechanisms. Binding of cytokines, such as IL6 or IL11 to the alpha-chains of their specific cell surface receptor triggers homodimerisation of IL6ST/gp130. In contrast, binding of other IL-6 family cytokines can result in the formation of a IL6ST/gp130 heterodimer with another signal-transducing receptor, such as LIFR or OSMR. Moreover, binding of CNTF or CLCF1 or the heterodimeric complex CRLF1-CLCF1 or MT-RNR2/humanin to the non-signalling receptor CNTFR induces heterodimerisation of the IL6ST/gp130 with LIFR or IL27RA/WSX1 (in the case of MT-RNR2/humanin). Location: Cell membrane; Secreted (UniProt). Locus 5q11.2 (HGNC).
- Where found: Hepatocellular carcinoma: IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (HCC); Prostate cancer: IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (PRAD, PROSTATE); Colorectal cancer: Open Targets association 0.55 with colorectal cancer (MONDO_0005575); Skin cancer: Open Targets association 0.52 with skin cancer (MONDO_0002898)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 2 cohorts; IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 1 cohort. Evidence tier "cohort-driver" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:6021: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:6021
- UniProt P40189: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P40189/entry
- NCBI Gene 3572: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/3572
- Ensembl ENSG00000134352: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000134352

## Connected records

- collections: [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/il6st.json