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Elevated serum IL-36γ levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and its association with disease activity

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Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic autoimmune disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of serum IL-36γ in AS patients and their association with AS. The study enrolled 131 subjects, including 45 with active AS, 46 with inactive AS, and 40 healthy controls (HCs). The basic clinical information of each participant was obtained through physical examination and relevant clinical medical records. Serum IL-36γ levels were detected through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IL-36γ levels in the active AS group were significantly higher than those in the HC group (94.72 vs. 65.76 pg/mL, P = 0.0087). The serum IL-36γ concentration in the inactive AS group was increased as compared to that in the HC group (100.90 vs. 65.76 pg/mL, P = 0.0138). Correlation analysis indicated that serum IL-36γ was positively correlated with glutamyl transferase in the active AS group (P = 0.0172), while serum IL-36γ was positively correlated with uric acid in the inactive AS group (P = 0.0151). The area under the curve (AUC) for IL-36γ was 0.6824 (P = 0.0009), and the AUC for IL-36γ combined with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels was 0.8102 (P < 0.0001), according to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. This study found that serum IL-36γ levels were elevated in AS patients and correlated with disease activity. Our results suggest that IL-36γ may be involved in the progression of AS disease and is a potential biomarker for AS.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81970735), Clinical Research and Application Project of Zhejiang Health Science and Technology Program (No. 2022KY1148), and Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo (No. 2022J233, No. 2021J080, No. 2021J246).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology and Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Shanjun Shi, Wubing Lu, Yinxin Zhou, Jieru Pang, Yan Li & Mingcai Li

  2. Ningbo No. 6 Hospital Affiliated to Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315040, China

    Jieru Pang

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  1. Shanjun Shi
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  2. Wubing Lu
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  5. Yan Li
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Contributions

SS wrote the main manuscript text and prepared Figs. 1–5. SS, WL, and YZ performed the experiment operation and data analysis. JP collected the clinical samples. YL and ML designed this study and provided funding support. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yan Li or Mingcai Li.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ningbo No. 6 Hospital Affiliated to Ningbo University, which conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

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All the participants in this study provided an informed consent.

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Shi, S., Lu, W., Zhou, Y. et al. Elevated serum IL-36γ levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and its association with disease activity. Mol Cell Biochem (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-023-04855-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-023-04855-4

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