Circulating TNFRI and TNFRII levels correlated with the disease activity score (DAS28) in rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To measure levels of soluble tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) receptor type I (sTNFRI) and type II (sTNFRII) in order to correlate them with C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and disease activity score (DAS28) in RA patients.


METHODS
We recruited 41 RA patients classified according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria and 38 healthy subjects (HS). sTNFRI and sTNFRII were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Clinical activity in RA patients was evaluated using the Disease Activity Score using 28 joint counts (DAS28). The statistical analysis was realized using SPSS version 10.0.


RESULTS
Soluble TNFRI and TNFRII levels were higher in RA patients (p = 0.04 and 0.001, respectively) than HS. Serum levels of sTNFRI correlated with sTNFRII (r = 0.699, p < 0.0001). sTNFRII correlated with DAS28 (r = 0.375, p = 0.017), RF (r = 0.505, p = 0.004), and ESR (r = 0.323, p = 0.042).


CONCLUSIONS
The increased levels of both sTNFRI and sTNFRII suggest a secondary event related to the inflammatory state observed in RA, whereas the correlation of sTNFRII with RF, ESR, and DAS28 reflects the preferential TNFRII shedding induced by TNFalpha. sTNFRII may be useful as an additional inflammatory marker in RA.
Valle
Y
Y
Institute for Rheumatology and Muscle-Skeletal Research, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ledezma-Lozano
I Y
IY
Torres-Carrillo
N
N
Padilla-Gutiérrez
J R
JR
Navarro-Hernández
R E
RE
Vázquez-Del Mercado
M
M
Palafox-Sánchez
C A
CA
Armendáriz-Borunda
J
J
Muñoz-Valle
J F
JF
D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047888:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I / Q000097:blood*; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II / Q000097:blood*; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000097:blood; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D047888:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor