Stem-cell IL-6 sustains organ damage

This hypothesis asks if rare blood-forming stem cells, which make blood cells, can cause lung and kidney damage after repeated infections while descendants retain rapid antimicrobial defense. Inflammatory memory, a lasting change, may make them secrete interleukin-6, an immune signal, between infections. Silencing interleukin-6 after memory should reduce the signal and organ damage before myeloid descendants, infection-fighting blood cells, are replaced, while early defense matches controls. A rival proposes that crowded cell interiors independently alter production of electron-carrying molecules and early microbial killing before gene-control shifts. Restoring physiological secretion should restore damage. Tests need cell-specific control and secretion measurements.