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Observational Study
. 2020 Apr 7;22(1):73.
doi: 10.1186/s13075-020-02172-5.

Serum interleukin-16 significantly correlates with the Vasculitis Damage Index in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis

Taejun Yoon  1 , Jung Yoon Pyo  2 , Sung Soo Ahn  2 , Jason Jungsik Song  2   3 , Yong-Beom Park  2   3 , Sang-Won Lee  4   5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Serum interleukin-16 significantly correlates with the Vasculitis Damage Index in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis

Taejun Yoon et al. Arthritis Res Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Interleukin (IL)-16 is a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells. We investigated whether IL-16 plays a pro- or an anti-inflammatory role in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Furthermore, we investigated whether the level of IL-16 could predict the activity and extent of organ damage in AAV based on AAV-specific indices.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients with AAV from a prospective observational cohort were included in this analysis. Blood sampling and clinical assessments, including the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), Five-Factor Score (FFS), Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), and Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI), were performed, and laboratory data were collected. Serum IL-16 was measured from stored sera.

Results: The median age was 62.0 years, and 27 patients were male. The median serum IL-16 concentration was 84.1 pg/dL, and the median BVAS, FFS, VDI, and SF-36 scores were 7.0, 1.0, 3.0, and 48.0, respectively. Among the AAV-related indices, the serum IL-16 concentration was correlated with VDI (R2 = 0.306, P = 0.006), but not with BVAS (R2 = 0.024, P = 0.834), FFS (R2 = - 0.069, P = 0.550), or SF-36 (R2 = - 0.015, P = 0.898). The serum IL-16 concentration also did not correlate with either the erythrocyte sedimentation rate or the C-reactive protein concentration. Per our analysis based on organ involvement, only patients with ear, nose, and throat manifestations had higher serum IL-16 concentrations relative to those with other conditions (P = 0.030).

Conclusions: This was the first study to elucidate the clinical implication of serum IL-16 in patients with AAV. We found that the serum IL-16 level may reflect the cross-sectional VDI scores among AAV-specific indices. Future studies with larger numbers of patients and serial measurements could provide more reliable data on the clinical implications of serum IL-16 in AAV.

Keywords: Activity; Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis; Reflect; Serum IL-16; Vasculitis damage.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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