Rheumatology Unit, Department of Emergency and Transplantation, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Department of medical and surgical sciences - Rheumatology Unit, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
Clin Exp Immunol. 2021 Nov;206(2):153-160. doi: 10.1111/cei.13651. Epub 2021 Aug 16.
Body fat has regulatory functions through producing cytokines and adipokines whose role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) is currently emerging. Changes in body mass, either over- or underweight, entail a dysregulation of the cytokine/adipokine network that may impact upon SSc disease activity. We evaluated serum levels of adipokines and cytokines in SSc patients and correlated them to clinical features and body mass index (BMI) categories. The study included 89 SSc patients and 26 healthy donors (HD). Serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, resistin, visfatin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10 and IL-17A were measured by multiplex immunoassay and correlated to BMI and disease-specific features. Student's t-test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for comparisons between groups. Spearman's or Pearson's tests were used for correlation analysis. Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-2, leptin and resistin were significantly higher in SSc than in HD. Leptin levels were significantly higher in interstitial lung disease (ILD)- and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-SSc subgroups. The highest levels of IL-17A, IL-2, IL-10, leptin and visfatin were detected in SSc patients with obesity (p < 0.01). Conversely, underweight SSc patients showed the highest TNF-α levels (p < 0.05). Adipokines, IL-2, IL-10 and IL-17A were found to be increased in SSc patients with obesity, but whether or not they play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease remains to be investigated. Intriguingly, underweight patients had the highest TNF-α levels, suggesting a potential role of TNF-α in inducing the cachexia observed in long-lasting disease.
体脂肪通过产生细胞因子和脂肪因子发挥调节作用，其在系统性硬化症（SSc）发病机制中的作用目前正在显现。体重的变化，无论是超重还是体重不足，都会导致细胞因子/脂肪因子网络失调，从而可能影响 SSc 疾病活动。我们评估了 SSc 患者血清中脂肪因子和细胞因子的水平，并将其与临床特征和体重指数（BMI）分类相关联。该研究纳入了 89 名 SSc 患者和 26 名健康对照者（HD）。采用多重免疫分析法测定血清脂联素、瘦素、抵抗素、内脂素、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α、干扰素（IFN）-γ、白细胞介素（IL）-2、IL-10 和 IL-17A 的水平，并与 BMI 和疾病特异性特征相关联。组间比较采用学生 t 检验或方差分析（ANOVA）。采用 Spearman 或 Pearson 检验进行相关性分析。与 HD 相比，SSc 患者血清中 TNF-α、IL-2、瘦素和抵抗素水平显著升高。间质性肺病（ILD）和肺动脉高压（PAH）-SSc 亚组的瘦素水平显著升高。肥胖 SSc 患者的 IL-17A、IL-2、IL-10、瘦素和内脂素水平最高（p<0.01）。相反，消瘦的 SSc 患者 TNF-α 水平最高（p<0.05）。肥胖 SSc 患者中发现脂肪因子、IL-2、IL-10 和 IL-17A 升高，但它们是否在疾病发病机制中发挥作用仍有待研究。有趣的是，消瘦患者的 TNF-α 水平最高，这表明 TNF-α 可能在诱导长期疾病中观察到的恶病质中发挥作用。
