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Increased serum IL-17 and IL-23 in the patient with ankylosing spondylitis

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Abstract

Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is a Th17 cytokine associated with inflammation, autoimmunity, and defense against some bacteria; it has been implicated in many chronic autoimmune diseases including psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and systemic sclerosis. However, whether IL-17 plays a role in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains unclear. To analyze the content of IL-17 and IL-23 in the serum from patients with AS compared with health control subject, 50 patients with AS and 43 healthy volunteers were recruited. Serum IL-17 levels were examined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistic analyses were performed by SPSS 13.0. Results show that the serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels were significantly elevated in AS patients as compared with normal controls. Nevertheless, no associations of serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels with clinical and laboratory parameters were found; no significant difference regarding serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels was found between less active AS and more active AS. However, there was a strong positive association between the serum levels of IL-17 and IL-23 in the AS patients. Our results indicate increased serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels in AS patients, suggesting that this two cytokine may play critical roles in the pathogenesis of AS. Therefore, further studies are required to confirm this preliminary data.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National and Province Natural Science Foundation of China (30771849, 30972530 090413133), and Anhui Science and Technology Agency annual plan in 2008 (08020303070). We thank all the AS and health control individuals for their enthusiastic participation in this study.

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Correspondence to Faming Pan.

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Mei, Y., Pan, F., Gao, J. et al. Increased serum IL-17 and IL-23 in the patient with ankylosing spondylitis. Clin Rheumatol 30, 269–273 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-010-1647-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-010-1647-4

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