Gene Expression and Serum Levels of Interleukin-40 in Male Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a kind of arthritis marked by persistent inflammation in the spine's joints, usually at the point where the spine and pelvis meet. Such a disease has different causes, including immunological causes. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the role of the immune system in this disease to improve a potential treatment strategy. In this context, the present study examined serum levels and gene expression of IL-40 in a group of Iraqi males with AS to determine their associations in AS pathogenesis. The study included a total of 200 Iraqi male participants (100 with AS and 100 healthy subjects). The serum level of IL-40 was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while gene expression was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction art- (PCR) technique.Serum level of IL-40 revealed no significant difference between the Median (IQR) of AS and HC groups, 30.63 (18.03) (pg/ml) versus 33.05 (24.81) (pg/ml) (p = 0.557) with AUC of 0.560. However, the level of IL-40 gene expression was higher significantly (p = 0.005) in the AS group in comparison with the HC group, 1.23 (0.73) fold change versus a 1-fold change.Consequently, it has been suggested that IL-40 gene expression had roles in the susceptibility of AS.