IL-6/IL-10 Ratio as A Prognostic and Predictive Marker of the Severity of Inherited Epidermolysis Bullosa

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have shown that cytokines have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and can be used as prognostic markers. Objective: To evaluate the IL-6/IL-10 ratio in patients with Inherited Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) as a prognostic marker. Methods: Serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were measured in 13 patients with recessive dystrophic EB (RDEB) as well as 10 with EB Simplex (EBS), and in 18 healthy subjects. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the IL-6/IL-10 ratio for detecting severe form of EB. Results: The IL-6/IL-10 ratio was statistically higher in RDEB patients than in EBS patients and healthy subjects. The IL-6/IL-10 ratio significantly correlated with BEBS score. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that IL-6/IL-10 ratio >5.6 has a good diagnostic accuracy to identify patients with the highest severity of disease.

Keywords

• anti-skin autoantibodies
• Birmingham Epidermolysis Bullosa Severity score
• Cytokines
• IL-6/IL-10 ratio
• Inherited Epidermolysis Bullosa