Elevated levels of interleukin-27 and effect on production of interferon-γ and interleukin-17 in patients with Behçet’s disease

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the levels of interleukin (IL)-27, interferon (IFN)-γ, and IL-17 in serum and supernatants of stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) compared with healthy subjects, and to evaluate the effect of recombinant human IL-27 (rhIL-27) on IFN-γ and IL-17 production by PBMCs.

Methods: Forty-three patients with BD and 40 healthy controls were included in this study. The serum levels of IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 and their production by PBMCs were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), together with the effects of levels of rhIL-27 on IFN-γ and IL-17 production by PBMCs.

Results: There were significantly higher levels of IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 in sera of patients with BD compared with the controls. Levels of IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 in BD patients with active uveitis were significantly higher than in those without. Moreover, IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 production by stimulated PBMCs was increased in BD patients compared to controls. In the presence of rhIL-27, stimulation of PBMCs from BD patients resulted in decreased production of IL-17 but increased production of IFN-γ.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 play a role in the pathogenesis of BD.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Scientific Research of the First Hospital of China Medical University (grant fsfh1007) and the Higher Education Department of Liaoning Province Research Grant (grants L2010604 and L2010613). We thank Professor JS Hill Gaston (Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge) for reviewing the English of the manuscript.