Serum levels of TNF-alpha, TNF-alphaRI, TNF-alphaRII and IL-12 in treated rheumatoid arthritis patients.
BACKGROUND
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease common in all races and ethnics. Cytokines and cytokines receptors play an important role in RA pathogenesis and clinical presentation.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the serum levels of TNF-alpha, TNF-alpha RI, TNF-alpha RII and IL-12 in RA patients and healthy control group.


METHODS
In this study 43 patients fulfilling the revised criteria of American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for RA and 13 healthy cases as a control group were selected for TNF-alpha, TNF-alphaRI, TNF-alphaRII and IL-12 serum level analysis. The patients' age was 42.2 +/- 22 and the age of healthy group was 40.1 +/- 19.2 years (p=0.1). The patients had an active disease with at least six swollen and ten tender joints. Minimum ESR was 28 mm at first hours of the morning. Early morning stiffness in patients lasted longer than 45 minutes.


RESULTS
Our study showed that IL-12 serum level of the patients (91.69 +/- 43.07 rhog/ml) and control (61.79 +/- 40.08 rhog/ml) group was significantly different (p<0.001). The serum level of TNF-alphaRI was 2.36 +/- 0.77 ng/ml in the patient and 1.73 +/- 0.37 ng/ml in the control group (p<0.01). TNF-alphaRII serum concentration in patients was 8.89 +/- 2.3 ng/ml, while that of control group was 7.06+/-1.30 ng/ml (p=0.03). The serum level of TNF-alpha in patients was 32.90 +/- 19.27 rhog/ml and that of the control group was 24.27+/- 8.28 rhog/ml (p=0.08) with no significant difference between the two.


CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that IL-12, TNF-alphaRI and TNF- alphaRII serum concentrations are more important and better predictive factors than TNF-alpha in RA course and in the active forms of the disease.
Department of Rheumatology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. aliaebrahimi@yahoo.com
Ali Asghar
AA
Ebrahimi
Hamid
H
Noshad
Shahram
S
Sadreddini
Mohammad Saeid
MS
Hejazi
Yashar
Y
Mohammadzadeh Sadigh
Yashar
Y
Eshraghi
Morteza
M
Ghojazadeh
D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047888:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I / Q000097:blood*; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II / Q000097:blood*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
D047888:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018664:Interleukin-12