IL-16 expression is increased in the skin and sera of patients with systemic sclerosis.
Rheumatology (Oxford)
; 59(3): 519-523, 2020 03 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31377804
OBJECTIVES: SSc is an autoimmune disease with chronic and persistent inflammation in its pathogenesis. To examine the expression pattern of IL-16 in SSc lesions, the serum concentration of IL-16 in SSc patients and the relationship between serum IL-16 levels and the clinical symptoms of SSc were investigated. METHODS: Using immunohistochemical analysis, we examined the quantity and localization of IL-16 in affected skin obtained from SSc patients. We also measured serum levels of IL-16 in SSc patients using an ELISA. We then validated the correlation between serum IL-16 levels and clinical symptoms in patients with SSc. RESULTS: In the skin, IL-16 was expressed on the lymphocytes around the capillaries. Furthermore, the proportion of IL-16-positive cells was statistically higher in patients with dcSSc than in those with lcSSc patients (43.9 vs 29.1%, P < 0.05). The serum IL-16 levels in SSc patients were statistically significant elevated compared with healthy controls (297.0 vs 194.9 pg/ml, P < 0.05). Increased serum IL-16 levels in SSc patients were correlated with the proportion classified as dcSSc, skin score and the presence of cutaneous symptoms of erythema and pigmentation. CONCLUSION: The regional up-regulation of IL-16 in the skin is not only associated with skin sclerosis, but also with systemic IL-16 activation. IL-16 may play a role in the pathogenesis of SSc. Moreover, serum IL-16 levels may be useful as a biomarker for determining the severity of the skin sclerosis. Inhibiting IL-16 activation may be effective in treating SSc.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Scleroderma, Systemic
/
Skin
/
Interleukin-16
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Rheumatology (Oxford)
Journal subject:
REUMATOLOGIA
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Japan
Country of publication:
United kingdom