Investigation of current inflammatory cytokines in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis(AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes inflammation in sacroiliac joints in the early stages and can cause inflammation of the backbone as the disease progresses, inflammation of the backbone, arthritis, enthesitis and systemic involvement. The disease affects young adults on the third decade of life and is more common in males than females. The pathogenesis of the disease is still unclear, although many factors, especially genetic factors and inflammatory cytokines, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. We aimed to investigate serum TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β levels in ankylosing spondylitis in whom pathogenesis is not known precisely in this study. Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic; According to the Modified New York Criteria, 59 voluntary patients with AS were diagnosed and 30 volunteers were included. Disease activities of all patients were calculated using the BASDAI, ASDAS-CRP and ASDAS-ESH activity indices. For all participants ESH, CRP, hemogram parameters, serum TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β levels were studied in the Dicle University Hospitals Central Laboratory. Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β were measured by ELISA method. No significant difference was found between the patient and the control group in terms of demographic data. There was no significant difference in serum TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β concentrations between the patient group and the control group. There was no correlation between serum TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β levels in BASDAI, ASDAS-CRP and ASDAS-ESH disease activity indices. The correlation between TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β concentrations was examined and there was a strong correlation between IL-36α and IL-36β concentrations in both patient group and control group (Patient: r = 0.904, p = 0.000; Control: r = 0.865, p = 0.000). In conclusion, serum TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α and IL-36β levels were not significantly different between ankylosing spondylitis patients and control group. Key words: Ankylosing spondylitis, TNF-α, IL-33, IL-36α, IL-36β, ELISA