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Serum IL-4, IL-10 and IL-6 levels in inflammatory arthritis

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Abstract

As the available in vitro and in vivo data suggest that interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 have immunosuppressive activity, our hypothesis was that serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels would correlate inversely with parameters of inflammation in patients with inflammatory arthritis. IL-4 was detected in the serum of 12 out of 140 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which was increased compared to the proportion found with patients with osteoarthritis (OA; P< 0.02). In addition, IL-4 was detected in the serum of 2 of 19 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 2 of 24 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 1 of 5 patients with Behçet's syndrome. No IL-4 was detected in patients with the following conditions: OA (58 patients), gout (17 patients), ankylosing spondylitis (6 patients), Reiter's syndrome (6 patients), polymyalgia rheumatica (6 patients), temporal arteritis (5 patients) and scleroderma (3 patients). No IL-10 was detected in any of the sera tested. We discuss the possible relevance of these results to the regulation of the immune response evident in inflammatory arthritis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, 3050, Parkville, Australia

    F. M. Cicuttini, K. D. Muirden & J. A. Hamilton

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Australia

    K. A. Byron & A. M. Wootton

  3. Melbourne Tumor Biology Branch, Lu wig Institute for Cancer Research, Parkville, Australia

    D. Maher

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  1. F. M. Cicuttini
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  2. K. A. Byron
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  3. D. Maher
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  4. A. M. Wootton
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  5. K. D. Muirden
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  6. J. A. Hamilton
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Cicuttini, F.M., Byron, K.A., Maher, D. et al. Serum IL-4, IL-10 and IL-6 levels in inflammatory arthritis. Rheumatol Int 14, 201–206 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00262298

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00262298

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