title: Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  These studies examined regulation of the cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), a systemic autoimmune disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in sera collected from 35 patients with OCP, 29 normal persons and 17 patients with ocular inflammatory diseases were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Levels of interleukin-6 were significantly decreased in sera of patients with OCP (median, 28.9; range, 7.5 to 136.7 pg/ml, P < 0.001) compared with sera from normal subjects (median, 65.2; range, 21.1 to 303.9 pg/ml). Sera from patients with non-OCP, extraocular inflammatory diseases and uveitis, showed no such decrease. In contrast, tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels were significantly elevated in OCP patients (median, 22.5; range, 8.3 to 44.4 pg/ml, P < 0.001), whereas no such increase was observed in sera from patients with extraocular inflammatory disease or uveitis, compared to normal sera controls (median, 17.4; range, 5 to 27.2 pg/ml).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that elevated serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels and decreased serum interleukin-6 levels can be added to the increasing list of systemic immunologic correlates of active OCP, again emphasizing that OCP is a systemic disease whose primary manifestation is ocular.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers; D003229:Conjunctival Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010390:Pemphigoid, Benign Mucous Membrane / Q000097:blood*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha