title: Serum cytokine profiles in Behçet's disease: is there a role for IL-15 in pathogenesis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disease characterised by recurrent orogenital ulceration, ocular inflammation and skin lesions whose aetiology is currently unknown. We hypothesized that levels of cytokines in the serum might provide either diagnostic or activity markers for the disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Levels of 10 cytokines were analysed in a multiplex bead analysis system as well as IL-15 by ELISA, in 79 serum samples from 52 patients with BD. The same cytokines were also measured in serum samples from 20 patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), as disease controls, and 15 healthy volunteers. The results were correlated with disease activity and current drug therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CXCL8 and TNF were the most abundant cytokines and were significantly raised compared to both patients with RAS and healthy controls. IL-15 was present in all samples and was significantly raised in both patients with BD and RAS compared to healthy controls. By comparison, cytokines associated with an adaptive immune response such as IFNgamma and IL-2 were found in few samples, while IL-4 and IL-10 were not detected in any sample. Levels of cytokines correlated with each other suggesting a response to the same stimulus, however, there was no association with either disease activity or treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cytokines related to activity of the innate immune response were most prominent in this study and showed good correlation with each other. In particular, it was shown that IL-15 was raised in BD. However, there was no pattern of cytokine expression relating to disease activity or treatment.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Ophthalmology, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Curnow
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pryce
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Modi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fortune
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stanford
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D019409:Interleukin-15