Serum Level of Soluble Lymphocyte-Activation Gene 3 Is Increased in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is described as a systemic and chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory polyarthritis. Lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG3) is a membrane glycoprotein expressed on activated, exhausted, and regulatory T cells. LAG3 plays a major role in the function of Treg cells. LAG3 also has a soluble form (sLAG3) with a controversial role.

To evaluate the serum level of sLAG3 in rheumatoid arthritis patients in comparison with healthy subjects and assess its association with the disease activity.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 105 patients with RA referred to Ghaem hospital of Mashhad, Iran. We divided the participants into four groups: 1) 35 untreated patients with newly diagnosed RA, 2) 35 active RA patients, 3) 35 patients in the remission phase of the disease, and 4) 35 healthy individuals matched in terms of age and sex. After completing the interview and questionnaire, the sLAG3 was evaluated by commercial ELISA.

The serum level of sLAG3 significantly increased in RA patients (76.78 ng/ml) as compared with the healthy participants (51.67, p=0.002). However, there was no significant difference between RA patients in the remission phase of the disease (114.11 ng/ml) and those with moderate to high disease activity (63.06 ng/ml, p=0.076).

This study provided insights into the role of sLAG3 in the immunopathogenesis of ‎RA disease, but further investigations are also warranted.