36º Congresso Brasileiro de Reumatologia

Dados do Trabalho


Title

INTERLEUKIN-18-BINDING PROTEIN ISOFORM A (IL-18 BPA): SERUM LEVELS AND CLINICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS PATIENTS

Background

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, vascular changes and immunological dysregulation. The involvement of IL-18 and its signaling in the pathogenesis of SSc is not clear and the studies conducted have conflicting results. IL-18 signaling is controlled by the balance between IL-18 and IL-18 binding protein isoform a (IL-18 BPa), a receptor that acts as an inhibitor of IL-18 signaling. This study aimed to evaluate the serum levels of IL-18 BPa in SSc patients and the possible associations with the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Materials and methods

Sixty-one SSc patients (mean age 48.3 + 12.9) and sixty-one healthy volunteers (mean age 44.7 + 11.7) were enrolled in the study. All patients fulfilled the 1980 ACR or 2013 ACR/EULAR criteria. Clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded down from the medical charts. Serum levels of IL-18 BPa were quantified by ELISA (R&D).

Results

Serum levels of IL-18 BPa are significantly decreased in SSc patients compared to healthy subjects (median 10.846 pg/ml and 16.800 pg/ml, respectively) (p<0.0001). In the evaluation of the possible correlations and associations of serum levels of IL-18 BPa with the clinical parameters of the disease, it was possible to observe that serum levels of IL-18 BPa were significantly lower in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (median 10.646 pg/ml, p= 0.019), digital ulcers (9.846 pg/ml, p= 0.036) and arthritis (median 9.471, p= 0.039), when compared with patients without these manifestations (medians: 15.621, 12.771 and 11.358 pg/ml, respectively). Additionally, it was observed that patients with myopathy had higher IL-18 BPa levels when compared to those without this condition (medians: 14.050 and 10.346 pg/ml, p= 0.006). No other clinical associations were observed.

Conclusions

These findings show a significant reduction in serum levels of IL-18 BPa in patients with systemic sclerosis when compared with healthy individuals and suggest this cytokine as a possible biomarker of vascular and musculoskeletal manifestations of the disease. Further studies are needed to address the role of IL-18 BPa in the pathogenesis of SSc.

Área

Systemic Scleroderma

Autores

Anderson Rodrigues de Almeida, Andréa Tavares Dantas, Maria Eduarda de Oliveira Gonçalves, Michelly Cristiny Pereira, Rafaela Silva Guimarães Gonçalves, Moacyr Jesus Barreto de Melo Rego, Angela Luzia Branco Pinto Duarte, Dulcineia Saes Parra Abdalla, Maira Galdino da Rocha Pitta