title: Clinical significance of serum soluble T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 levels in systemic sclerosis: Association with disease severity.
abstract: T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) has been thought to play a crucial role in the negative regulation of immune responses. Here, we examined the levels of serum soluble TIM-3 (sTIM-3) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and evaluated the results with respect to the clinical features of the disease. Patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) had higher levels of sTIM-3 than those with limited cutaneous SSc and healthy individuals. Serum sTIM-3 levels were positively correlated with the severity of skin sclerosis in early phase dcSSc. Moreover, serum sTIM-3 levels were increased more often in patients with renal crisis and cardiac involvement than in those with normal sTIM-3 levels. These results suggest that serum sTIM-3 levels may be increased in patients with early phase dcSSc and associated with cardiac involvement and renal crisis. Measurement of serum sTIM-3 may be useful for risk stratification in the early stage of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yanaba
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidemi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D000072597:Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000072597:Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2
keywords: T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3; autoimmunity; enzyme-linked immunoassay; skin sclerosis; systemic sclerosis