IL6 and bacterial infectious disease: In patients with severe bacterial infections, PCT synthesis can also occur in other districts (especially in the liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and leukocytes) due to specific inflammatory stimuli, mainly mediated by interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha, which are triggered by the lipopolysaccharide, the major component of the external membrane of Gram-negative bacteria.