IL6R and adenoma: IL-6 may directly stimulate hepatic DNA synthesis, since IL-6 transgenic mice showed a lack in DNA synthesis following hepatectomy, and double transgenic mice expressing both IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) under a liver-specific promoter develop hepatocellular hyperplasia and adenomas, which are considered as precancerous lesions in humans [52, 53].