Serum sCTLA-4 levels and clinical manifestations in ankylosing spondylitis patients

Abstract

Objective: T cell abnormal activation is thought to have a main role in the etiology of ankylosingspondylitis (AS). While cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4) is suppressing the im-mune system, in previous studies serum soluble CTLA-4 (sCTLA-4) was detected at high amounts inautoimmune disorders. We sought to evaluate the association between soluble CTLA-4 in serum anddisease activity in AS patients.Methods: Thirty-eight patients with AS, 28 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and 27 disease-free con-trols were enrolled to the study. The levels of sCTLA-4 were determined for each participant using anenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive peptide,and demographic characteristics were documented. The data were analyzed by using relevant sta-tistical methods.Results: In comparison with RA patients and controls, patients with AS showed high sCTLA-4 lev-els (p