relation between the level of interleukin-23 with duration and severity of ulcerative colitis

In this study, we determined the relationship between the serum level of IL-23 and the severity of ulcerative colitis [UC] among our population. A recent major breakthrough for describing the pathogenesis of intestinal tissue injury in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] is the pathway related to interleukin-23 [IL-23]. We performed a prospective case-control study on a total of 85 new patients with ulcerative colitis, recruited from a general referral hospital. Forty ethnically matched healthy controls were also enrolled among hospital staffs and analyzed. Serum IL-23 level was quantified using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay [ECLIA] method with an immunoassay analyzer. The mean serum IL-23 level in the group with ulcerative colitis was significantly higher than the healthy individuals [347.5 +/- 130.9 pg/ml versus 233.5 +/- 86.3 pg/ml; p<0.001]. There was a positive correlation between the serum level of IL-23 and disease duration [r = 0.27, p = 0.04]. Also, a direct relationship was found between the serum level of IL-23 and the severity of disease [mean IL-23 in mild UC = 296.2 +/- 51.2 pg/ml; in moderate UC = 356.1 +/- 142.9 pg/ml; and in severe UC=399.3 +/- 163.8 pg/ml, p=0.04]. Serum level of IL-23 is directly correlated with the duration and severity of ulcerative colitis