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Chemokine linked to disease activity in patients with untreated early RA
High circulating levels of the chemokine CXCL10 were associated with clinical disease activity in patients with untreated early rheumatoid arthritis, according to results of a recently published study.
Jayesh M. Pandya, PhD, in the Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research at Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues obtained peripheral blood from 43 patients who had early untreated rheumatoid arthritis (euRA) and had not received any disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or prednisone. Researchers compared these patients with 14 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Researchers used flow cytometry to define the proportion of T helper cells in blood, which included Th0, Th1, Th2, Th17, Th1Th17, TFh and regulatory T cells. To evaluate chemokine levels in blood plasma, they used flow cytometry, bead-based immunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To evaluate clinical disease activity, they used DAS28, clinical disease activity index (CDAI), swollen joint counts (SJC), tender joint counts, C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).
Researchers found patients with euRA differed from healthy controls in their blood plasma chemokine profile. In the univariate analysis, the most significantly different chemokines were CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL13, CCL4 and CCL22. However, only CXCL10 was associated with multiple disease activity measures, including DAS28-CRP, DAS28-ESR, CDAI, SJC in 66 joints, CRP and ESR. – by Will Offit
Disclosure: Pandya reports no relevant financial disclosures.