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Serum IL-33 levels are raised in patients with systemic sclerosis: association with extent of skin sclerosis and severity of pulmonary fibrosis

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Abstract

To determine serum interleukin-33 (IL-33) levels and their associations with clinical parameters in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Serum IL-33 levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 69 patients with SSc and 30 healthy individuals. In a retrospective longitudinal study, sera from 14 patients with SSc were analyzed (follow-up, 1–7 years). Serum IL-33 levels were elevated in SSc patients (261.7 ± 141.9 pg/ml) compared with healthy individuals (174.9 ± 72.4 pg/ml; P < 0.001). Patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc had higher levels of IL-33 (287.5 ± 146.6 pg/ml) than those with limited cutaneous SSc (221.5 ± 126.5 pg/ml; P < 0.05). Pulmonary fibrosis and decreased forced vital capacity were more commonly found in patients with elevated IL-33 levels than in those with normal IL-33 levels. IL-33 levels correlated positively with the extent of skin sclerosis, and inversely with percent predicted forced vital capacity. IL-33 levels were increased in SSc patients and correlated with the extent of skin sclerosis and the severity of pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, IL-33 possibly plays a role in cutaneous and pulmonary fibrosis in SSc patients.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Nakatomi Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato, Tokyo, Japan

    Koichi Yanaba

  2. Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan

    Ayumi Yoshizaki

  3. Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Yoshihide Asano, Takafumi Kadono & Shinichi Sato

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  1. Koichi Yanaba
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  2. Ayumi Yoshizaki
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  3. Yoshihide Asano
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  4. Takafumi Kadono
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  5. Shinichi Sato
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Correspondence to Shinichi Sato.

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Yanaba, K., Yoshizaki, A., Asano, Y. et al. Serum IL-33 levels are raised in patients with systemic sclerosis: association with extent of skin sclerosis and severity of pulmonary fibrosis. Clin Rheumatol 30, 825–830 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-011-1686-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-011-1686-5

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