Park M C, Lee S W, Park Y B, Lee S K
Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seodaemun-ku, Seoul, Korea 120-752.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2006 May;45(5):545-8. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kei266. Epub 2005 Dec 13.
To investigate serum profiles of inflammatory cytokines in patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and to determine their correlations with disease activity of TA.
Forty-nine patients with TA and 12 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. Blood samples were obtained and were divided into active and stable disease groups. Paired blood samples were available in 19 patients at the active stage before treatment and at the remitted stage after treatment. Serum tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12 and IL-18 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Serum TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-18 levels of patients with TA were significantly higher than those of controls (P<0.05), but IFN-gamma and IL-12 levels were not. Serum IL-6 and IL-18 levels were significantly higher in the active disease group than in the stable disease group (P<0.05), but the levels of TNF-alpha were not different between the groups. In the 19 patients with paired samples, serum IL-18 levels at the remitted stage after treatment were significantly decreased compared with the active stage before treatment (P<0.001). The changes in IL-18 levels between active and remitted stages correlated well with changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P<0.001).
Serum IL-18 and IL-6 levels were elevated in patients with TA, especially in those with active disease. Serum IL-18 levels correlated well with disease activity of TA. These results suggest that IL-6 and IL-18 might contribute to the pathogenesis of TA and that IL-18 could be a useful marker for monitoring disease activity of TA.
研究大动脉炎（TA）患者血清中炎性细胞因子谱，并确定其与TA疾病活动度的相关性。
对49例TA患者和12例年龄及性别匹配的对照者进行研究。采集血样并分为疾病活动组和稳定组。19例患者在治疗前的活动期和治疗后的缓解期有配对血样。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测定血清肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α、干扰素（IFN）-γ、白细胞介素（IL）-6、IL-12和IL-18水平。
TA患者血清TNF-α、IL-6和IL-18水平显著高于对照组（P<0.05），但IFN-γ和IL-12水平无差异。疾病活动组血清IL-6和IL-18水平显著高于稳定组（P<0.05），但两组间TNF-α水平无差异。在19例有配对样本的患者中，治疗后缓解期血清IL-18水平较治疗前活动期显著降低（P<0.001）。活动期与缓解期IL-18水平的变化与红细胞沉降率的变化密切相关（P<0.001）。
TA患者血清IL-18和IL-6水平升高，尤其是疾病活动期患者。血清IL-18水平与TA疾病活动度密切相关。这些结果提示IL-6和IL-18可能参与TA的发病机制，且IL-18可能是监测TA疾病活动度的有用标志物。
