Shen Hui, Xia Liping, Lu Jing
Department of Rheumatology, 1st Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Indian J Med Res. 2013 Dec;138(6):919-21.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a progressive complication in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although the precise mechanisms of ILD are not fully understood, Th2 cytokines, especially interleukin (IL)-4 may play an important role in the processes of fibrosis. We, therefore, investigated the role of Th2 cytokines, including IL-4, IL-13 and IL-5 in RA patients with or without ILD.
Serum samples were obtained from 63 patients with RA. Among them, 29 RA patients had ILD while the remaining 34 patients were without ILD. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) from 11 RA patients with ILD and eight patients without ILD were also collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to analyze the levels of IL-4, IL-13 and IL-5 both in serum and in BALF.
The levels of IL-4 were increased in the serum and BALF of RA patients with ILD compared with RA patients without ILD. There were no differences in the levels of IL-13 and IL-5 among the different groups.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The present results indicate that IL-4 seems to play an important role in the development of ILD in patients with RA.
间质性肺疾病（ILD）是类风湿关节炎（RA）患者的一种进行性并发症。尽管ILD的确切机制尚未完全明确，但Th2细胞因子，尤其是白细胞介素（IL）-4可能在纤维化过程中起重要作用。因此，我们研究了包括IL-4、IL-13和IL-5在内的Th2细胞因子在有或无ILD的RA患者中的作用。
从63例RA患者中获取血清样本。其中，29例RA患者患有ILD，其余34例患者无ILD。还收集了11例有ILD的RA患者和8例无ILD的RA患者的支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）分析血清和BALF中IL-4、IL-13和IL-5的水平。
与无ILD的RA患者相比，有ILD的RA患者血清和BALF中IL-4水平升高。不同组间IL-13和IL-5水平无差异。
目前结果表明，IL-4似乎在RA患者ILD的发生发展中起重要作用。
