CLINICAL IMPORTANCE OF INTERLEUKIN-4 IN SYSTEMIC SCLERODERMA

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate whether serum levels of interleukin-4 ( IL-4) reflects the clinical disease status and laboratory features of systemic sclerosis (SSc). IL-4 was measured by ELISA in forty patients wilh SSc. We revealed IL-4 (Ю-lOOOpg/ml) in sera from 12 of 40 pts (30%). These pts had significantly less duration of disease, the progression of skin and visceral involvement by the time of investigation and a trend lo the greater frequency of lung fibrosis. There was no correlation of IL-4 level with type of SSc. The pts with increased scrum levels of IL-4 had higher levels of circulated immune complexes, y-globulins, but the levels of acute phase reactants (CRP, fibrinogen) were lower compared with the of others. We suggest that serum IL-4 may serve a biologic marker for the progression of skin and lung fibrosis, but the results require confirmation in longitudinal study.

Keywords

• интерлейкин-4
• системная склеродермия
• т лимфоциты
• фиброз
• активность