Elevated Serum Levels of Interleukin-29 Are Associated with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that may lead to progressive joint destruction. The anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody is an essential marker for the diagnosis of RA and has a crucial role in the bone destruction in RA. Recent studies have shown that interleukin (IL)-29, a vital member of type III interferon (IFN) family, could enhance proinflammatory cytokine production and might be involved in the joint destruction in RA. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to examine the role of IL-29 in RA patients with anti-CCP antibodies. The result showed that the serum IL-29 levels were higher in RA patients (n = 68) compared with healthy controls (HC, n = 68, P = 0.019). Correlation analysis demonstrated a significant positive correlation among serum IL-29 level, rheumatoid factor (RF, P < 0.001) and anti-CCP antibodies (P = 0.042). However, when RA patients were divided into two groups according to anti-CCP antibodies, the serum IL-29 levels were significantly higher in anti-CCP-antibodies positive RA patients (n = 54) than those in HC (n = 68) and anti-CCP-antibodies negative RA patients (n = 14). Furthermore, the serum IL-29 levels were positively correlated with the disease activity (P < 0.05) and significantly declined after 6 months of treatment (P < 0.01) in the anti-CCP-antibodies positive RA patients, whereas no significant change was found in the anti-CCP-antibodies negative RA patients (P > 0.05). The findings indicate that IL-29 is a potential biomarker for disease activity in anti-CCP-antibodies positive RA patients.