. Effect of prior hyperglycemia on IL-6 responses to exercise in children with type 1 diabetes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 290: E833-E839, 2006. First published December 6, 2005 doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00445.2005.-The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) may modulate the onset and progression of complications of diabetes. As this cytokine increases after exercise, and many other exercise responses are altered by prior glycemic fluctuations, we hypothesized that prior hyperglycemia might exacerbate the IL-6 response to exercise. Twenty children with type 1 diabetes (12 boys/8 girls, age 12-15 yr) performed 29 exercise studies (30-min intermittent cycling at ϳ80% peak O2 uptake). Children were divided into four groups based on highest morning glycemic reading [blood glucose (BG) Ͻ 150, BG 151-200, BG 201-300, or BG Ͼ 300 mg/dl]. All exercise studies were performed in the late morning, after hyperglycemia had been corrected and steadystate conditions (plasma glucose Ͻ120 mg/dl, basal insulin infusion) had been maintained for Ն90 min. Blood samples for IL-6, growth factors, and counterregulatory hormones were drawn at pre-, end-, and 30 min postexercise time points. At all time points, circulating IL-6 was lowest in BG Ͻ 150 and progressively higher in the other three groups. The exercise-induced increment also followed a similar doseresponse pattern (BG Ͻ 150, 0.6 Ϯ 0.2 ng/ml; BG 151-200, 1.2 Ϯ 0.8 ng/ml; BG 201-300, 2.1 Ϯ 1