Department of Internal Medicine, Ali-Ibn Abi-Talib Hospital, School of Medicine; Molecular Medicine Research Center, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Research, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine; Molecular Medicine Research Center, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Research, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021 Feb 11;20(1):114-119. doi: 10.18502/ijaai.v20i1.5418.
Evidence showed that chronic inflammatory and immunopathological responses play a pivotal role in the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Interleukin-38 (IL-38) as a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine with influential modulatory properties on both innate and adaptive immune responses can be involved in the pathogenesis of OA. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the serum level of IL-38 in OA patients to clarify the positive or negative association with disease and its severity. Blood specimens were collected from two groups including 23newly-diagnosed OA patients and 22 healthy sex and age-matched subjects as a control group. Serum IL-38 quantities were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Significantly higher IL-38 levels were detected in OA patients in comparison with the healthy group (265.78±41.27 pg/mL vs 44.23±6.04 pg/mL, p=0.0001). The IL-38 concentration in OA patients with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores>40 and in OA patients with visual analog scale (VAS) scores >5 werehigher than those with WOMAC scores<40, and VASscores<5 (p=0.026 and p=0.035, respectively). The IL-38 levels in OA patients with body mass index (BMI)<25 were also significantly higher than in patients with BMI>25 (p=0.05). According to our findings, WOMAC, VAS, and BMI indices may influence the IL-38 serum levels in OA patients and it may be elevated in OA patients to modulate inflammatory responses in a compensatory manner.The patients with OA, especially those with more severe disease express higher serum amounts of IL-38. Accordingly, IL-38 may be considered as a valuable marker for OA.
证据表明，慢性炎症和免疫病理反应在骨关节炎（OA）的发展中起着关键作用。白细胞介素-38（IL-38）作为一种新型抗炎细胞因子，对先天和适应性免疫反应具有影响调节作用，可能参与 OA 的发病机制。因此，本研究旨在测量 OA 患者的血清 IL-38 水平，以阐明其与疾病及其严重程度的正相关或负相关。采集了两组血液标本，包括 23 例新诊断的 OA 患者和 22 名性别和年龄匹配的健康对照组。采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）测量血清 IL-38 量。与健康组相比，OA 患者的 IL-38 水平显著升高（265.78±41.27 pg/mL 比 44.23±6.04 pg/mL，p=0.0001）。WOMAC（西部安大略省和麦克马斯特大学骨关节炎指数）评分>40 和 VAS（视觉模拟评分）评分>5 的 OA 患者的 IL-38 浓度高于 WOMAC 评分<40 和 VAS 评分<5 的患者（p=0.026 和 p=0.035）。BMI（体重指数）<25 的 OA 患者的 IL-38 水平也明显高于 BMI>25 的患者（p=0.05）。根据我们的发现，WOMAC、VAS 和 BMI 指数可能影响 OA 患者的血清 IL-38 水平，并且可能以代偿方式升高 OA 患者的炎症反应。OA 患者，特别是病情较重的患者，血清中 IL-38 含量较高。因此，IL-38 可能被视为 OA 的一个有价值的标志物。
