title: Elevated levels of interleukin-23 in sera of patients with pemphigus vulgaris.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pemphigus vulgaris, a chronic mucocutaneous disease, is the most prevalent type of pemphigus which manifests with development of bullae and erosions on skin and mucosal membranes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the potential role of IL-23 in pemphigus vulgaris.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, 30 patients with pemphigus vulgaris and 30 healthy individuals were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Measurement of IL-23 serum levels in blood samples was conducted by ELISA. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test for comparison of IL-23 levels between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean serum levels of IL-23 in patients with pemphigus and healthy controls were 25.1 ± 4.2 and 17.9 ± 4.7 pg/ml, respectively (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the findings of this study, serum levels of IL-23 were higher in patients with pemphigus in comparison to healthy individuals with no clinical significance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, e-mail: farzaneh_pakdel@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Firouz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pouralibaba
authors.forename: Zohreh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Babaloo
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pakdel
authors.forename: Tahmoores
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abdollahian
authors.forename: Solmaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pourzare
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053759:Interleukin-23 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053759:Interleukin-23