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. 2022 Dec 2;9(12):003664.
doi: 10.12890/2022_003664. eCollection 2022.

Might IgA be a Biomarker of Disease Activity in Takayasu Arteritis?

Lorenzo Vantaggio  1 , Chiara Pellicano  1 , Marzia Miglionico  1 , Giuseppina Cusano  1 , Marcella Visentini  1
Affiliations

Might IgA be a Biomarker of Disease Activity in Takayasu Arteritis?

Lorenzo Vantaggio et al. Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. .

Abstract

Takayasu arteritis is a systemic vasculitis of the large vessels and mainly affects Japanese and Southeast Asian women in the second and third decades of life. Inflammatory infiltrate affects the full thickness of the vessel wall, inducing progressive lumen stenosis and occlusion. The main biomarkers of disease activity are the ESR, CRP and serum levels of circulating cytokines. This case report describes the clinical history of a young woman with Takayasu disease with high serum levels of IgA at onset. IgA remained elevated with persistence of disease activity, and normalized only when the patient was treated with an anti-TNF agent (infliximab), which also induced a clinical response in the vasculitis. IgA levels, together with other inflammatory parameters, may be considered a biomarker of disease activity.

Learning points: This case report highlights the need to increase the number of humoral markers used to assess disease course in Takayasu arteritis (TA).IgA may be considered a biomarker of TA disease activity.Serum IgA levels may be helpful to identify TA patients not responding to traditional therapy.

Keywords: IgA; Takayasu arteritis; Vasculitis; biomarkers; infliximab.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
IgA serum levels (panel A) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (panel B). Arrows denote infliximab (300 mg) injection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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