The Journal of the Korean Rheumatism Association  2002;9(2):117-123

Elevated serum interleukin 15 (IL-15) in Behcet's disease.

Kyung Su PARK 1 ; So Youn MIN ; Mi La CHO ; Chong Hyeon YOON ; Yong Ju KIM ; Jong Seo PARK ; Jin Jung CHOI ; Wan Uk KIM ; Do June MIN ; Youn Sik HONG ; Jun Ki MIN ; Sung Hwan PARK ; Chul Soo CHO ; Ho Youn KIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Behcet's disease; disease activity; IL-15; IL-8

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical significance of interleukin 15 (IL-15) in patients with Behcet's disease (BD). METHODS: Serum samples were obtained from 31 patients with BD and 29 healthy controls. BD patients were divided into active and inactive group according to the presence of clinical manifestations on the day of sampling. Serum levels of IL-15 and IL-8 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Serum levels of IL-15 and IL-8 were significantly higher in BD patients than in healthy controls (117.2+/-26.2 pg/ml versus 51.8+/-15.4 pg/ml, p<0.01, 287.7+/-100.9 pg/ml versus 138.5+/-17.2 pg/ml, p<0.01, respectively). There was a significant correlation between serum levels of IL-15 and IL-8 IL-15 levels compared with those without it (161.1+/-68.8 pg/ml versus 96.4+/-3 4 . 8pg/ml, p<0.05). Serum levels of IL-15 and IL-8 tended to be higher in active group than in inactive group, but didn't reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Serum level of IL-15 was elevated in patients with BD, especially those with uveitis, but it did not seem to be useful as a marker of disease activity in BD.