title: Serum calprotectin--a promising diagnostic marker for adult-onset Still's disease.
abstract: Calprotectin is a calcium-binding cytosolic protein, mainly expressed in immune cells, such as neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages. Our study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of calprotectin for adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), by comparing serum calprotectin concentrations in patients with AOSD (n = 46), rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 34), primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS, n = 40), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, n = 39), osteoarthritis (OA, n = 20), and healthy controls (HCs, n = 49). Calprotectin concentrations were significantly higher in patients with AOSD (55.26 ± 18.00 ng/ml), compared to patients with RA (39.17 ± 18.90 ng/ml), pSS (35.31 ± 19.47 ng/ml), SLE (32.21 ± 25.01 ng/ml), OA (19.24 ± 10.67 ng/ml), and HCs (8.46 ± 5.17 ng/ml). All the differences were highly significant (p < 0.001). Using receiver-operating characteristic curve, the cut-off value of calprotectin was defined as 45.488 ng/ml, and its sensitivity and specificity for AOSD diagnosis were 63.0 and 80.1%, respectively. The positive rate of calprotectin was significantly higher in AOSD cases compared to patients with other diseases and healthy controls (p < 0.001). Serum calprotectin was positively correlated with ferritin (r = 0.294, p < 0.05), and concentration of hemoglobin was significantly lower in calprotectin-positive patients compared to negative patients in AOSD (103.49 ± 20.21 g/l vs 115.71 ± 15.59 g/l, t = -2.142, p = 0.038). These findings suggest that serum calprotectin may serve as a promising marker for the diagnosis of AOSD and monitor disease activity to a certain extent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China. guoqian0422@163.com.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, North Branch of People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, 830054, China.
authors.forename: Xicao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zha
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China. jianping.guo@bjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, 11 South Xizhimen Street, Beijing, 100044, China. suyin0921@163.com.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000097:blood*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000097:blood; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D016706:Still's Disease, Adult-Onset / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex; D005293:Ferritins
keywords: Adult-onset Still’s disease; Calprotectin; Diagnostic marker