Yang Libin, Zhang Jun, Tao Jingang, Lu Tan
Department of Orthopeadic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China.
APMIS. 2015 Dec;123(12):1025-31. doi: 10.1111/apm.12467.
Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is closely associated with several inflammatory diseases. However, the role of IL-37 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between serum levels of IL-37 and disease activity, inflammatory cytokines, and bone loss in patients with RA. Serum cytokines levels were examined by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Radiographic bone erosion was assessed using the van der Heijde-modified Sharp score and bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using DXA. Serum IL-37 levels in RA patients were significantly higher than those in HCs (p < 0.001), and were significantly positively correlated with clinical parameters of disease activity and serum levels of IL-17 and IL-23. In addition, serum IL-37 levels were significantly higher in patients with stage IV of radiographic bone erosion than those with stage III and stage I-II, and they were significantly higher in those with osteopenia and osteoporosis than in those with normal BMD. Our results suggest that serum IL-37 levels were increased in patients with RA and were positively associated with disease activity, IL-17/IL-23 and bone loss in RA, suggesting that IL-37 may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of RA.
白细胞介素-37（IL-37）与多种炎症性疾病密切相关。然而，IL-37在类风湿关节炎（RA）发病机制中的作用仍不清楚。本研究旨在评估RA患者血清IL-37水平与疾病活动度、炎性细胞因子及骨质流失之间的关联。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）检测血清细胞因子水平。使用范德海伊德改良夏普评分评估影像学骨侵蚀，并使用双能X线吸收法（DXA）测量骨密度（BMD）。RA患者血清IL-37水平显著高于健康对照者（p < 0.001），且与疾病活动度的临床参数以及IL-17和IL-23的血清水平显著正相关。此外，影像学骨侵蚀IV期患者的血清IL-37水平显著高于III期和I-II期患者，骨量减少和骨质疏松患者的血清IL-37水平显著高于BMD正常者。我们的结果表明，RA患者血清IL-37水平升高，且与RA的疾病活动度、IL-17/IL-23及骨质流失呈正相关，提示IL-37可能在RA发病机制中起关键作用。
