Serum interleukin-18 and its relationship with subclinical atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic factor, and its blood level has shown a direct correlation with atherosclerosis. We aimed to evaluate the serum IL-18 level in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its relationship with the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery in these patients, as an indicator of atherosclerosis.

In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients as the patient group and 30 healthy volunteers as the control group [matched sex, age, and body mass index (BMI)] were selected, and their disease status and general data were gathered using the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) form. A blood sample was also obtained from all participants to determine the serum level of IL-18 and other metrics, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), complement 3 (C3), and C4. The IMT of the carotid artery was calculated in both groups. We also evaluated the clinical cardiovascular manifestations.

The serum IL-18 levels in patients were significantly higher than in the control group (P ˂ 0.005). It had no significant correlation with disease activity (P = 0.10). The patients with SLE with high IL-18 serum levels (> 280 pg/ml) had higher SLEDAI-2K (P = 0.02) than the patients with a low level (< 280), where 280 was the median of the IL-18 levels. The serum IL-18 level had no significant correlation with the carotid artery IMT.

A high level of IL-18 reflects the disease activity, but it was not significantly correlated with subclinical atherosclerosis, denoted by the carotid artery IMT.