Abstract
BackgroundInterleukin (IL)-16 is a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells. We investigated whether IL-16 plays a pro- or an anti-inflammatory role in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Furthermore, we investigated whether the level of IL-16 could predict the activity and extent of organ damage in AAV based on AAV-specific indices.MethodsSeventy-eight patients with AAV from a prospective observational cohort were included in this analysis. Blood sampling and clinical assessments, including the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), Five-Factor Score (FFS), Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), and Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI), were performed, and laboratory data were collected. Serum IL-16 was measured from stored sera.ResultsThe median age was 62.0 years, and 27 patients were male. The median serum IL-16 concentration was 84.1 pg/dL, and the median BVAS, FFS, VDI, and SF-36 scores were 7.0, 1.0, 3.0, and 48.0, respectively. Among the AAV-related indices, the serum IL-16 concentration was correlated with VDI (R2 = 0.306, P = 0.006), but not with BVAS (R2 = 0.024, P = 0.834), FFS (R2 = − 0.069, P = 0.550), or SF-36 (R2 = − 0.015, P = 0.898). The serum IL-16 concentration also did not correlate with either the erythrocyte sedimentation rate or the C-reactive protein concentration. Per our analysis based on organ involvement, only patients with ear, nose, and throat manifestations had higher serum IL-16 concentrations relative to those with other conditions (P = 0.030).ConclusionsThis was the first study to elucidate the clinical implication of serum IL-16 in patients with AAV. We found that the serum IL-16 level may reflect the cross-sectional VDI scores among AAV-specific indices. Future studies with larger numbers of patients and serial measurements could provide more reliable data on the clinical implications of serum IL-16 in AAV.
Highlights
Interleukin (IL)-16 is a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells
The following are often assessed at every visit: Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), version 3 for activity; Five-Factor Score (FFS) for prognosis; the Korean version of the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) for functional status; and the Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI) for end organ damage [3,4,5,6]
Interleukin (IL)-16 was first introduced as a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells in 1982 [7]
Summary
Interleukin (IL)-16 is a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells. We investigated whether IL-16 plays a pro- or an anti-inflammatory role in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodyassociated vasculitis (AAV). We investigated whether the level of IL-16 could predict the activity and extent of organ damage in AAV based on AAV-specific indices. Interleukin (IL)-16 was first introduced as a T cell chemoattractant produced by peripheral mononuclear cells in 1982 [7]. This cytokine is produced by various cells, such as CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, mast cells, eosinophils, and fibroblasts [8]. Previous reports have highlighted the clinical significance of serum IL-16 in several typical systemic autoimmune diseases
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