Serum Interleukin-36 α as a Candidate Biomarker to Distinguish Behçet’s Syndrome and Psoriatic Arthritis

Bettiol A, Fagni F, Mattioli I, Bagni G, Vitiello G, Grassi A, Della Bella C, Benagiano M, Troilo A, Holownia KS, Simon D, Argento FR, Sota J, Fabiani C, Becatti M, Fiorillo C, Schett G, Lopalco G, Cantarini L, Prisco D, Silvestri E, Emmi G, D’Elios MM (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences MDPI

Book Volume: 24

Article Number: 8817

Journal Issue: 10

DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108817

Abstract

Behçet’s syndrome (BS) is a rare systemic vasculitis characterized by different clinical manifestations. As no specific laboratory tests exist, the diagnosis relies on clinical criteria, and the differential diagnosis with other inflammatory diseases can be challenging. Indeed, in a relatively small proportion of patients, BS symptoms include only mucocutaneous, articular, gastrointestinal, and non-typical ocular manifestations, which are frequently found also in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We investigate the ability of serum interleukin (IL)-36α—a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in cutaneous and articular inflammatory diseases—to differentiate BS from PsA. A cross-sectional study was performed on 90 patients with BS, 80 with PsA and 80 healthy controls. Significantly lower IL-36α concentrations were found in patients with BS as compared to PsA, although in both groups IL-36α was significantly increased compared to healthy controls. An empirical cut-off of 420.6 pg/mL displayed a specificity of 0.93, with a sensitivity of 0.70 (AUC 0.82) in discriminating PsA from BS. This cut-off displayed a good diagnostic performance also in BS patients lacking highly specific BS manifestations. Our results indicate that IL-36α might be involved in the pathogenesis of both BS and PsA, and might be a candidate biomarker to support the differential diagnosis of BS.

Authors with CRIS profile

Filippo Fagni Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology David Simon Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Georg Schett Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin III

Involved external institutions

Università degli Studi di Firenze / University of Florence IT Italy (IT) Università degli Studi di Siena (UNISI) / University of Siena IT Italy (IT) University of Bari Aldo Moro / Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro IT Italy (IT)

How to cite

APA:

Bettiol, A., Fagni, F., Mattioli, I., Bagni, G., Vitiello, G., Grassi, A.,... D’Elios, M.M. (2023). Serum Interleukin-36 α as a Candidate Biomarker to Distinguish Behçet’s Syndrome and Psoriatic Arthritis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(10). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108817

MLA:

Bettiol, Alessandra, et al. "Serum Interleukin-36 α as a Candidate Biomarker to Distinguish Behçet’s Syndrome and Psoriatic Arthritis." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24.10 (2023).

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