Serum Cytokine Levels Compared in Behçet's Disease

In the study there were 10 patients with active BD, seven males and three females, and 25 patients with inactive BD, 11 males and 14 females. The mean ages of the groups were 31.90 ± 3.51 years, 33.80 ± 10.85 years, and 29.97 ± 12.43 years in active BD, inactive BD and controls, respectively.

The serum interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and interferon (IFN)-γ (Invitrogen; Carlsbad, CA, USA) and IL-17A (Biosource Europe S. A.; Nivelles, Belgium) levels were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Mean serum IL-8 levels of active BD patients was 2.04 ± 0.33 pg/mL which were higher compared to inactive BD patients of 1.81 ± 0.28 pg/mL and healthy controls whose mean level was 1.82 ± 0.20 pg/ml. IL-8 levels were correlated with the duration of symptoms and time passed since diagnosis. Serum levels of IL-2, 6, 10, 17A, and IFN- γ were similar in all study groups.

The authors concluded that Behçet's disease involves complex interactions of cells of the immune system, mainly T lymphocytes and neutrophils and various alterations in cytokine signaling seem to play a major role in its pathogenesis. The study was published in the July 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.

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