@Article{ecn.2013.0328,
AUTHOR = {Bijan Keikhaei, Ali Reza Mohseni, Reza Norouzirad, Mastaneh Alinejadi, Somayeh Ghanbari, Fariba Shiravi, Ghasem Solgi},
TITLE = {Altered levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in sickle cell disease patients during vaso-occlusive crises and the steady state condition},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {24},
YEAR = {2013},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {45--52},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v24n1/65681},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {Objective: This study aimed to evaluate serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and TGF-β in
sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, and to compare the results during vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) or steady state
(StSt) conditions. Methods: 54 SCD patients (37HbSS and 17Sβ<sup>+</sup>Thal) were enrolled in the study and evaluated in
two groups as follows; group A consisted of 39 VOC patients and group B comprised 15 StSt patients. Nineteen
healthy volunteers were included as controls. Circulating levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17,TNF-α and TGF-β were
measured using ELISA. Results: Patients in VOC showed higher mean levels of all cytokines than those found in
steady-state patients, but this was only marginally significant for IL-8 levels (P = 0.08). Increased levels of TGF-β and
IL-17 were found in StSt patients versus normal controls (P = 0.004 and P<0.0001 respectively). A positive correlation
was observed between IL-8 and IL-17 in both groups of patients (P = 0.002 and P = 0.005 respectively). Decreased
levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-17 were found in hydroxyurea-treated patients. Additionally, significantly higher
levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were observed in hydroxyurea-treated and untreated patients than in controls respectively
(P = 0.04 and P = 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-8 and
IL-17, could be used as related markers for assessing disease severity, and consequently therapeutic intervention.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2013.0328}
}