Serum CCL18 levels are positively correlated with disease activity score in RA
Original article
van Lieshout AWT et al. (2007) Circulating levels of the chemokine CCL18 but not CXCL16 are elevated and correlate with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 66: 1334–1338 PubMed
Research has indicated that antigen presenting cells (APCs) have a role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). T cells are attracted by chemokines released by APCs, before becoming activated by cytokines. In this study, van Lieshout and colleagues compared the circulating levels of the chemokines CCL18 and CXCL16 in patients with RA and healthy controls, and investigated whether levels of these chemokines correlated with disease activity, joint damage and disease progression.
Serum levels of CCL18 and CXCL16, disease activity score 28-joint count (DAS-28), joint damage (using the modified Sharp score) and other laboratory values were measured in 61 patients with RA at the time of diagnosis, every 3 months for the first 2 years of follow-up and every 6 months thereafter. Data were compared with 41 healthy control subjects. Similar measurements were also performed in a separate cohort of 44 patients with RA who had received treatment with infliximab.
Baseline serum levels of CCL18, but not CXCL16, were significantly higher in patients with RA compared with controls (P=0.0004). CCL18 levels also positively correlated with DAS-28 score at baseline (P=0.003). CCL18 and CXCL16 levels did not correlate with joint damage or radiographic disease progression. Levels of CCL18 decreased significantly (P<0.0001) after initiation of infliximab treatment, independently of disease activity.
The authors conclude that, while CCL18 correlated less strongly with disease activity than erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein level, further research into the roles of CCL18 and CXCL16 is required to understand their roles in RA.
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Subject areas under which this article appears: Rheumatoid arthritis | Diagnosis, imaging and screening
