Department of Medical Science, BK21 Plus Project, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
Arthritis Res Ther. 2020 Apr 7;22(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s13075-020-02172-5.
Interleukin (IL)-16 is a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells. We investigated whether IL-16 plays a pro- or an anti-inflammatory role in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Furthermore, we investigated whether the level of IL-16 could predict the activity and extent of organ damage in AAV based on AAV-specific indices.
Seventy-eight patients with AAV from a prospective observational cohort were included in this analysis. Blood sampling and clinical assessments, including the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), Five-Factor Score (FFS), Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), and Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI), were performed, and laboratory data were collected. Serum IL-16 was measured from stored sera.
The median age was 62.0 years, and 27 patients were male. The median serum IL-16 concentration was 84.1 pg/dL, and the median BVAS, FFS, VDI, and SF-36 scores were 7.0, 1.0, 3.0, and 48.0, respectively. Among the AAV-related indices, the serum IL-16 concentration was correlated with VDI (R = 0.306, P = 0.006), but not with BVAS (R = 0.024, P = 0.834), FFS (R = - 0.069, P = 0.550), or SF-36 (R = - 0.015, P = 0.898). The serum IL-16 concentration also did not correlate with either the erythrocyte sedimentation rate or the C-reactive protein concentration. Per our analysis based on organ involvement, only patients with ear, nose, and throat manifestations had higher serum IL-16 concentrations relative to those with other conditions (P = 0.030).
This was the first study to elucidate the clinical implication of serum IL-16 in patients with AAV. We found that the serum IL-16 level may reflect the cross-sectional VDI scores among AAV-specific indices. Future studies with larger numbers of patients and serial measurements could provide more reliable data on the clinical implications of serum IL-16 in AAV.
白细胞介素 (IL)-16 是一种由外周单核细胞产生的 T 细胞趋化因子。我们研究了 IL-16 在抗中性粒细胞胞质抗体相关性血管炎 (AAV) 中是否发挥促炎或抗炎作用。此外，我们还研究了基于 AAV 特异性指标，IL-16 的水平是否可以预测 AAV 患者的活动度和器官损伤程度。
本分析纳入了前瞻性观察队列中的 78 例 AAV 患者。进行了血液采样和临床评估，包括伯明翰血管炎活动评分 (BVAS)、五因素评分 (FFS)、健康调查简表 36 项 (SF-36) 和血管炎损伤指数 (VDI)，并收集了实验室数据。从储存的血清中测量血清 IL-16。
中位年龄为 62.0 岁，27 例为男性。中位血清 IL-16 浓度为 84.1pg/dL，中位 BVAS、FFS、VDI 和 SF-36 评分分别为 7.0、1.0、3.0 和 48.0。在 AAV 相关指标中，血清 IL-16 浓度与 VDI 相关 (R=0.306，P=0.006)，但与 BVAS 不相关 (R=0.024，P=0.834)、FFS 不相关 (R=-0.069，P=0.550)或 SF-36 不相关 (R=-0.015，P=0.898)。血清 IL-16 浓度也与红细胞沉降率或 C 反应蛋白浓度不相关。根据我们基于器官受累的分析，只有耳部、鼻部和喉部表现的患者的血清 IL-16 浓度高于其他患者 (P=0.030)。
这是第一项阐明血清 IL-16 在 AAV 患者中的临床意义的研究。我们发现，血清 IL-16 水平可能反映 AAV 特异性指标中的横断面 VDI 评分。未来有更多患者和系列测量的研究可能会提供更可靠的数据，说明血清 IL-16 在 AAV 中的临床意义。
