Putative Role of Serum Amyloid-A and Proinflammatory Cytokines as Biomarkers for Behcet's Disease

Abstract

Behcet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic disorder of unknown etiology characterized by relapsing oral–genital ulcers, uveitis, and involvement of vascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, and musculoskeletal system. Although disease pathogenesis is still unclear, both innate and adaptive immunity have shown to play a pivotal role, and multiple proinflammatory cytokines seem to be involved in different pathogenic pathways that eventually lead to tissue damage.

The aims of our study were to evaluate serum cytokines levels of IL-8, IL-18, IFN-α2a, IL-6, IFN-γ, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL9, and SAA levels in patients with BD, in comparison to healthy controls (HC), and to correlate their levels to disease activity.

We included 78 serum samples obtained from 58 BD patients and analyzed a set of proinflammatory cytokines including IL-8, IL-18, IFN-α2a, IL-6, IFN-γ, CXCL10, CXCL11, and CXCL9 by multiplex bead analysis as well as SAA by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Compared to HC, BD patients showed elevated cytokine levels of IL-8, IL-18, IFN-α2a, and IL-6, and low levels of CXCL11. BD patients with SAA serum levels >20 mg/L showed higher levels of proinflammatory markers than HC or group with SAA ≤20 mg/L. IL-18, IFN-α2a, and IL-6 were higher in BD group with SAA >20 mg/L than HC, while IL-8 and CXCL9 levels were higher than in patients with SAA ≤20 mg/L and HC.

Active BD patients with SAA >20 mg/L exhibited elevated levels of inflammatory mediators, suggesting that may exist a relationship between SAA and proinflammatory cytokines in the intricate scenario of BD pathogenesis.