Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Medical Biochemistry

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease that is characterized by the infiltration of activated immune cells and production of inflammatory factors which leads to destruction of joints and systemic complications. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines that has a role in pathogenesis of RA. Interleukin-37(IL-37) has been known to play an immunosuppressive role in various inflammatory disorders including RA. The aim of this study was to assess the serum level of IL-37 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and find out the correlations between IL-37 levels and laboratory parameters, RA disease activity and the serum level of IL-17A, as it is one of the inflammatory cytokines. Our study involves two main groups, group (1) RA patients and group (2) healthy normal control subjects. All studied groups were subjected to measurement of serum level IL-17A and IL-37 by Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA). The mean value of IL-37 and IL-17A was significantly higher in RA patients compared with control (P<0.001). The mean level of IL-37 was significantly higher in active RA patients than inactive patients (P<0.001) and showed a significant positive correlation with IL-17A (r=.528, p<0.001),Disease activity Score (DAS28) score (r=.761, p<0.001), ESR (r=.334,p=.018) and number of tender joints (r=.328,p=.020).Also the mean value of IL-17A was significantly higher in active RA compared with inactive patients (p=0.005). In conclusion, our findings highlight the potential anti-inflammatory role of IL-37 in RA .Thus it can be used as potential biomarker for RA activity and as pharmacological target to limit disease progression and severity

Issued also as CD