title: CCL13 is a promising diagnostic marker for systemic sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies suggest that CCL13 may have some role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine serum levels of CCL13 and its clinical associations in patients with SSc.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum CCL13 levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 80 patients with SSc, 20 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 20 patients with dermatomyositis (DM), 29 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 50 healthy individuals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean + or - SD serum CCL13 levels were elevated in patients with SSc (81.3 + or - 55.8 pg mL(-1)) compared with healthy controls (15.0 + or - 9.9 pg mL(-1); P < 0.001) and patients with SLE (22.0 + or - 6.9 pg mL(-1); P < 0.001), DM (24.4 + or - 36.1 pg mL(-1); P < 0.001) and AD (18.0 + or - 6.4 pg mL(-1); P < 0.001). Among patients with SSc, there were no differences in serum CCL13 levels between limited cutaneous SSc and diffuse cutaneous SSc. In a longitudinal study, CCL13 levels were generally unchanged during the follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum CCL13 was specifically increased in patients with SSc, but not in patients with SLE, DM or AD or in healthy controls. CCL13 could be a promising serological marker for SSc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yanaba
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshizaki
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muroi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018945:Monocyte Chemoattractant Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C099677:CCL13 protein, human; D018945:Monocyte Chemoattractant Proteins