Interleukin-17 and interleukin-23 in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis

To analyse the concentration of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 in serum and ex vivo culture supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) compared with healthy controls (HC).

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to analyse the concentration of IL-17 and IL-23 from 25 patients with PM, 21 patients with DM, and 12 HC in serum or ex vivo culture supernatant of PBMCs following stimulation ex vivo with anti-CD3/CD28 for 72 h.

The levels of IL-23 increased in the serum and culture supernatant of patients with PM and patients with DM compared with HC. By contrast, concentrations of IL-17 in supernatants from patients with PM and DM were not significantly higher than those from HC. We subdivided the group of DM and PM patients into those with early disease versus those with established disease and found that the levels of IL-17 and IL-23 were much higher in early stage compared to established disease.

We have demonstrated that stimulated PBMCs from DM and PM patients produce increased levels of IL-23 as compared to HC. IL-17 and IL-23 levels are increased in early as compared to established disease. This provides further evidence that IL-17/IL-23 may play a crucial role in autoimmune diseases.