Abstract
BackgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1–3% of the population making it one of the most popular autoimmune diseases. Chemokines through switching on their receptors exert a climacteric role in RA pathogenesis. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to quantify the serum levels of serum B lymphocyte chemoattractant protein13 (CXCL13) chemokine in recent onset RA patients and to correlate its levels with clinical, laboratory, and musculoskeletal ultrasonographic parameters (MSUS) of disease activity and severity.ResultsThe mean serum CXCL13 value showed a significant increase in the RA patients (388.86 ± 283.63 pg/ml) than in the controls (62.94 ± 31.62 pg/ml) (P < 0.001). Highly active RA patients had significantly the highest mean of CXCL13 (mean ± SD 819.13 ± 191.05) compared with the moderately active RA patients (mean ± SD 284.95 ± 137.93) (P < 0.001) and the RA patients with low disease activity (mean ± SD 129.5 ± 21.27) (P < 0.001) and its levels were positively related with clinical disease activity and musculoskeletal ultrasonographic severity parameters.ConclusionSerum CXCL13 is correlated with clinical disease activity and MSUS disease severity that encourages its use for monitoring the activity and severity of synovitis in recent onset RA patients. Future studies to detect the effect of disease activity control by medications on CXCL13 levels and the effect of the CXCL13 antagonist on controlling RA disease activity and severity are recommended.
Highlights
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1–3% of the population making it one of the most popular autoimmune diseases
This study was planned to quantify the Serum B lymphocyte chemoattractant protein13 (CXCL13) chemokine serum levels in recent onset RA patients and to correlate its levels with clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity and severity, our study was extended to relate serum CXCL13 levels to more objective scores of disease activity and severity detected by GS and power doppler (PD) musculoskeletal ultrasonographic parameters (MSUS) examination
Consistent with previous observations, our study showed that CXCL13 levels were significantly correlated with MSUS synovial hypertrophy expressing the severity of synovitis [34, 35]
Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1–3% of the population making it one of the most popular autoimmune diseases. Chemokines through switching on their receptors exert a climacteric role in RA pathogenesis The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to quantify the serum levels of serum B lymphocyte chemoattractant protein (CXCL13) chemokine in recent onset RA patients and to correlate its levels with clinical, laboratory, and musculoskeletal ultrasonographic parameters (MSUS) of disease activity and severity. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1–3% of the world’s population, and it is considered one of the most popular autoimmune diseases. It is characterized by synovitis extending to the adjacent articular cartilage leading to erosion and further tissue damage. It is not just an articular disease, extra-articular organs could be affected thereby worsening disease prognosis and leading to lifelong disability and discomfort [2]. Inflammatory changes involving the synovium of the inflamed joints leading to pain, warmth, swelling, and stiffness that usually experienced early in the morning or after prolonged inactivity that lasts more than 30 min [3]
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