Serum levels of interleukin-12 in Behçet's disease

Abstract

Purpose: Although the immunopathogenesis of Behçet's disease (BD) is not well defined, T helper 1 (Th1) cell related cytokines have been shown to be elevated in previous studies. We aimed to investigate the role of interleukin-12 in BD since it has activator and stimulator effect on Th1 cells. Methods: Serum IL-12 levels were assessed in 36 BD patients (13 active BD and 23 inactive BD patients), in 23 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and in 22 healthy controls (HC) using sandwich ELISA method. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein were also studied. Results: Levels of serum IL-12 were found as 3.023±4.391 pg/mL in BD patients, 4.189±4.751 pg/mL in RA patients and 0.126±0.428 pg/mL in HC. Levels of IL-12 were found to be higher in BD patients when compared to HC (p= 0.000). There was no difference between BD and RA patients (p=0.335). Serum IL-12 levels in active BD (5.617±5.725 pg/mL) and inactive BD (1.557±2.563 pg/mL) patients were found to be elevated when compared to those in HC (p= 0.000 and p=0.004, respectively). When all BD patients were compared to HC, there was no significant difference in ESR or CRP levels (p>0.05), but active BD patients had higher levels of ESR and CRP than HC (p=0.000 and p=0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Our results may suggest involvement of IL-12 in the pathogenesis of BD.