Determination of Serum Interleukin-13 and Nerve Growth Factor in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Clinical Significance

摘要

The changes in the levels of serum interleukin-13 （IL-13） and nerve growth factor （NGF） in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE） and their clinical significance were investigated. Sandwich ELISA was used to determine the levels of serum IL-13 and NGF in 35 SLE patients and 15 normal controls. The results showed that the levels of serum IL-13 （92.69±9.87 pg/ml） and NGF （339.69±25.60 pg/ml） in active SLE patients were significantly higher than those in inactive SLE patients （IL-13, 54.22±9.31 pg/ml; NGF, 300.89±33.51 pg/ml）（P<0.01）. The inactive patients also had significantly increased serum levels of IL-13 and NGF as compared with normal controls （IL-13, 35.20±12.70 pg/ml; NGF, 111.40±32.54 pg/ml; P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the serum IL-13 levels were correlated with disease activity index of SLE （SLEDAI）, ESR and serum levels of C3 （r= 0.813, 0.504, -0.605, respectively）. The serum NGF levels were also correlated with above markers （r=0.442, 0.338, -0.463, respectively）. The serum levels of IL-13 and NGF had a positive correlation （r=0.506, P<0.01）. It was suggested that IL-13 and NGF might be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE and closely correlated with disease activity.