The demonstration of serum interleukin 6-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, complement, and immunoglobulin levels in Behçet's disease with ocular involvement.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether there are alterations in the humoral immune system in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) with ocular involvement.


METHODS
Twenty-four BD patients with active uveitis and without any other manifestations of the disease were included in Group I-a. The same patients were reassessed during the convalescence period and assigned to Group I-c. Moreover, 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (Group II) were included in the study. Serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgM, complement (C) 3, C4, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in Groups I-a, I-c, and II were measured and compared.


RESULTS
IgA, C3, C4, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha levels were higher in Group I-a than in Groups I-c and II.


CONCLUSIONS
IgA-, C3-, C4-, IL6-, IL8-, and TNF-alpha-mediated mechanisms might be responsible for ocular lesions in BD.
Bardak
Yavuz
Y
Department of Ophthalmology, Süleyman Demirel University Medical School, Isparta, Turkey. yavuzbardak@hotmail.com
Aridoğan
Buket Cicioğlu
BC
D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000276:immunology*
D007136:Immunoglobulins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D003165:Complement System Proteins