IL6 and Sepsis: In adults, IL-6 released from HSPCs in response to acute stressors such as sepsis, chemotherapy, or in a post-transplant setting, can also promote myelopoiesis [37, 51] In the setting of prolonged inflammation, chronically elevated IL-6 levels cause direct mitochondrial damage in developing erythroid cells, resulting in impaired hemoglobin production [37, 52].