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Raised concentration of soluble form of vascular endothelial cadherin and IL-23 in sera of patients with Behçet’s disease

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic multisystem vasculitis disease that can affect any organ and usually is combined with hyperactivation of neutrophils. Involvement of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-12 in BD has been shown before. However, IL-12 shares a p40 subunit with IL-23, which has additional inflammatory effects apart of IL-12. IL-23 increases neutrophils’ transmigration and therefore could contribute in BD induction or progression. Moreover, endothelial cells express vascular endothelial cadherin adhesion molecule (VE–cadherin), which plays critical roles in angiogenesis and endothelial integrity. VE–cadherin may shed into the circulation in a soluble form (sVE–cadherin), and inflammatory cytokines can increase this process. Therefore, a correlation between IL-23 concentration and amount of sVE–cadherin was proposed. We enrolled 44 healthy persons and 53 patients with BD of different disease activities and examined their serum concentrations of IL-23 and sVE–cadherin. A significant correlation was found between the concentrations of these two factors among patients only. Comparing sVE–cadherin mean concentration in patients and controls showed a significant difference, which for IL-23 was not considered significant. Results showed higher IL-23 in sera of patients with uveitis. Moreover, there was a meaningful correlation between IL-23 content and disease activity. These results could extend the biological effects of IL-23 in BD and introduce sVE–cadherin as a potential new biomarker in the course of BD pathogenesis.

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Acknowledgment

This work was financially supported by grant 86-3514 from the deputy of research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Zahra Habibagahi & Masoomeh Heidari

  2. Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, Shiraz, Iran

    Zahra Habibagahi

  3. Immunotherapy Laboratory, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 71345-3119, Zand Blvd, Shiraz, Iran

    Mojtaba Habibagahi & Masoomeh Heidari

Authors
  1. Zahra Habibagahi
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  2. Mojtaba Habibagahi
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  3. Masoomeh Heidari
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Correspondence to Mojtaba Habibagahi.

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Habibagahi, Z., Habibagahi, M. & Heidari, M. Raised concentration of soluble form of vascular endothelial cadherin and IL-23 in sera of patients with Behçet’s disease. Mod Rheumatol 20, 154–159 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-009-0246-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-009-0246-1

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