Increased serum soluble OX40 in patients with systemic sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine levels of serum soluble OX40 (also termed CD134, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily) and their clinical associations in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).


METHODS
Serum soluble OX40 levels were examined by ELISA in 53 patients with SSc, 15 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 32 healthy individuals.


RESULTS
OX40 levels were significantly elevated in SSc patients (125.7 +/- 5.7 pg/ml) compared to patients with SLE (80.7 +/- 1.7 pg/ml; p < 0.005) and controls (88.2 +/- 3.0 pg/ml; p < 0.0001). Elevated OX40 levels were found to be associated with disease duration of less than 2 years (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that serum soluble OX40 levels correlate with the early-onset of SSc disease.
Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Kazuhiro
K
Komura
Ayumi
A
Yoshizaki
Masanari
M
Kodera
Yohei
Y
Iwata
Fumihide
F
Ogawa
Kazuhiro
K
Shimizu
Takamasa
T
Wayaku
Toru
T
Yukami
Maki
M
Murata
Minoru
M
Hasegawa
Manabu
M
Fujimoto
Kazuhiko
K
Takehara
Shinichi
S
Sato
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053278:OX40 Ligand / Q000097:blood*; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000097:blood*; D045745:Scleroderma, Limited / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
D015415:Biomarkers; D053278:OX40 Ligand; C089251:TNFSF4 protein, human