OBJECTIVE: To detect the serum level of soluble chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to analyze their correlation with bone erosion, as well as the clinical significance in RA. METHODS: In the study, 105 cases of RA patients, 90 osteoarthritis (OA) patients and 25 healthy controls in Peking University People's Hospital were included. All the clinical information of the patients was collected, and the serum CXCL9 and CXCL10 levels of both patients and healthy controls were measured by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). CXCL9 and CXCL10 levels among different groups were compared. The correlation between serum levels with clinical/laboratory parameters and the occurrence of bone erosion in RA were analyzed. Independent sample t test, Chi square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's rank correlation and Logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in the RA patients [250.02 (126.98, 484.29) ng/L, 108.43 (55.16, 197.17) ng/L] than in the OA patients [165.05 (75.89, 266.37) ng/L, 69.00 (33.25, 104.74) ng/L] and the health controls [79.47 (38.22, 140.63) ng/L, 55.44 (18.76, 95.86) ng/L] (all P < 0.01). Spearman's correlation analysis showed that the level of serum CXCL9 was positively correlated with swollen joints (SJC), rheumatoid factor (RF) and disease activity score 28 (DAS28) (r=0.302, 0.285, 0.289; P=0.009, 0.015, 0.013). The level of serum CXCL10 was positively correlated with tender joints (TJC), SJC, C-reactive protein (CRP), immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgM, RF, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA), and DAS28 (r=0.339, 0.402, 0.269, 0.266, 0.345, 0.570, 0.540, 0.364; P=0.010, 0.002, 0.043, 0.045, 0.009, < 0.001, < 0.001, 0.006). Serum CXCL9 and CXCL10 levels in the RA patients with bone erosion were extremely higher than those without bone erosion [306.84 (234.02, 460.55) ng/L vs. 149.90 (75.88, 257.72) ng/L, 153.74 (89.50, 209.59) ng/L vs. 54.53 (26.30, 83.69) ng/L, respectively] (all P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that disease duration, DAS28 and serum level of CXCL9 were correlated with bone erosion in the RA patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 were remarkably elevated in patients with RA, and correlated with disease activities and occurrence of bone erosion. Chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 might be involved in the pathogenesis and bone destruction in RA.
Arthralgia ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications* ; Chemokine CXCL10/blood* ; Chemokine CXCL9/blood* ; Chemokines ; Humans ; Osteoarthritis/complications*

To investigate the relationship between the plasma levels of chemokine CXCL9/Mig and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The plasma levels of CXCL9/Mig of 35 patients who received all-HSCT were detected by using ELISA assay, these patients included 13 patients with grade 0-I, 12 patients with grade II and 10 patients with grade III - IV aGVHD, respectively. The four different time points including prior to allo-HSCT, one week before aGVHD onset, the plateau of aGVHD and time after completely controlled, were studied. The results showed that the plasma levels of CXCL9/Mig in the patients with serious aGVHD (grade II - IV) were significantly increased during aGVHD than those in the patients without aGVHD or with slight aGVHD (P < 0.001). It was found that CXCL9/Mig levels were significantly correlated with the severity of grade aGVHD (P < 0.001). Another important finding was that CXCL9/Mig levels obviously increased at one week before aGVHD was diagnosed. CXCL9/Mig level was not obviously correlated with CMV infection or other infectious complication (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the plasma level of CXC19/Mig significantly correlated with the severity of aGVHD and plays a critical role in pathogenesis of aGVHD, the changes in plasma level of CXCL9/Mig after allo-HSCT may be used as a valuable indicator for early diagnosis of aGVHD, finally, provide a early therapeutic approach to reduce aGVHD severity and improve the outcome for patients after allo-HSCT.
Chemokine CXCL9 ; blood ; Graft vs Host Disease ; blood ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo study the expression levels of monokine induced by interferon-gama; (Mig) mRNA and its association with HBV DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

METHODSThe level of Mig mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was dynamically detected with real-time quantitative PCR, and the ratio of chemokine/GAPDH was considered to represent the final chemokine level. The plasma level of was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSThe mean level of Mig mRNA in PBMCs of the patients with chronic hepatitis B was 0.6883-/+0.0693, which was significantly higher than that in normal controls (P<0.001). The plasma Mig level in the patients was 609.6-/+73.8 pg/ml, also significantly higher than that in normal controls (P<0.05). In patients with chronic hepatitis B, the level of Mig mRNA in the PBMCs was significantly correlated with plasma Mig level (r=0.7157, P<0.001), and plasma Mig level was correlated with plasma ALT level (r=0.7220, P<0.001) and plasma HBV DNA level (r=0.7266, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONBoth the expression of Mig mRNA in PBMCs and plasma Mig concentration are elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Mig plays an important role in migration of the inflammatory cells to the liver and mediates the development of chronic hepatitis B.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Chemokine CXCL9 ; blood ; genetics ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; blood ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction