Altered Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis in Sarcoidosis: A Case-Control Study

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Immunology
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disease characterized by significant oxidative stress.
• Dynamic thiol-disulfide homeostasis (TDH) serves as a key indicator of systemic redox status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate TDH parameters in patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis.
• To assess the association between TDH and the presence of sarcoidosis.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 58 sarcoidosis patients and 53 healthy controls.
• Automated spectrophotometric determination of native thiol (NT) and total thiol (TT) concentrations.
• Calculation of disulfide (DS) levels and ratios; analysis using ROC curves and Cohen's d.

Main Results:

• Sarcoidosis patients showed significantly lower serum NT and TT levels (p=0.003, p=0.009).
• Elevated DS levels and DS/NT ratio were observed in patients (p=0.011, p<0.001).
• TDH parameters demonstrated moderate effect sizes and ROC AUC values from 0.625 to 0.664, with DS/NT ratio showing highest association.

Conclusions:

• TDH is significantly altered in sarcoidosis, reflecting a systemic shift towards an oxidative state.
• TDH parameters are potential exploratory biochemical indicators of systemic redox imbalance in sarcoidosis.
• Further large-scale prospective trials are warranted to elucidate TDH's role in disease pathophysiology.