title: Association of serum interleukin-17 and interleukin-23 levels with disease activity in Chinese patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic arthritis with a pathogenesis which is not fully understood. A third subset of IL-17-producing T helper cells, called Th17 cells, has been discovered and characterized. We investigated whether IL-17 and IL-23, two Th17-related cytokines, play any roles in the pathogenesis of, and have any correlations with, disease activity and clinical manifestations in AS.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study included 49 AS patients and 25 healthy control subjects. The serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. At the same time, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Global Score (BAS-G) levels were measured, and physical examinations were performed on study participants to determine their extent of physical mobility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels of the AS patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls. In the AS patients, the BASDAI scores had a better correlation with the serum IL-17 or IL-23 levels (IL-17, r = 0.351, p = 0.014; IL-23, r = 0.398, p = 0.005) than with ESR (r = 0.078, p = 0.600) and CRP (r = 0.012, p = 0.993). IL-17 or IL-23 correlate to the BASFI, BAS-G and parameters related to physical mobility. In the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels act better in discriminating patients with BASDAI≥4 (AUC value 0.88, p = 0.001) than ESR and CRP (AUC value 0.727, p = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels were significantly higher in AS patients than in healthy controls and the levels correlate to disease activity measured by BASDAI scores, but not parameters of functional ability and spinal mobility. These results suggest the existence of a role of IL-17 and IL-23 in the pathogenesis of inflammation in AS.
authors: Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors: Wei-Sheng
authors: WS
authors: Chen
authors: Yu-Sheng
authors: YS
authors: Chang
authors: Kuan-Chia
authors: KC
authors: Lin
authors: Chien-Chih
authors: CC
authors: Lai
authors: Shu-Hung
authors: SH
authors: Wang
authors: Kai-Hung
authors: KH
authors: Hsiao
authors: Hui-Ting
authors: HT
authors: Lee
authors: Ming-Han
authors: MH
authors: Chen
authors: Chang-Youh
authors: CY
authors: Tsai
authors: Chung-Tei
authors: CT
authors: Chou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D053759:Interleukin-23 / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17; D053759:Interleukin-23; D002097:C-Reactive Protein