Interleukin-8 in Takayasu's arteritis: plasma levels and relationship with disease activity.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the plasma levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and their relationship with disease activity.

METHODS:

IL-8 levels were detected by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the plasma of 53 TA patients, 25 age/sex-matched healthy controls and of 10 serially followed up active TA patients on immunosuppressive therapy.

RESULTS:

Significantly increased levels of IL-8 were observed in TA patients (26.32 +/- 48.96 pg/ml) compared to controls (6.0 +/- 2.45 pg/ml) (p = 0.0006) and in patients with active TA (55.0 +/- 71.43 pg/ml) compared to those with an inactive disease (8.94 +/- 6.35 pg/ml) (p = 0.0001). The increased levels of the chemokine were present in 37% (20/53) of the patients compared to 8% (2/25) of the controls (p < 0.01) and in 80% (16/20) of patients with active TA compared to 12% (4/33) of those with an inactive disease (p < 0.0001). In the follow-up study, the plasma levels of IL-8 were normalized in 6/10 of the patients and the disease in 5 of these 6 patients was also observed to undergo remission.

CONCLUSION:

These results suggest that IL-8 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of TA.

• Authors: N K Tripathy, N Sinha, S Nityanand
• Journal: Clinical and experimental rheumatology (Clin Exp Rheumatol) Vol. 22 Issue 6 Suppl 36 Pg. S27-30 ( 2004) ISSN: 0392-856X [Print] Italy
• PMID: 15675131 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Glucocorticoids
• Immunosuppressive Agents
• Interleukin-8
• Prednisolone
• Azathioprine

Topics

• Adult
• Azathioprine (therapeutic use)
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Glucocorticoids (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Immunosuppressive Agents (therapeutic use)
• Interleukin-8 (blood)
• Male
• Prednisolone (therapeutic use)
• Takayasu Arteritis (blood, drug therapy, physiopathology)