Interleukin-27 levels in patients with myasthenia gravis

Abstract Interleukin-27 (IL-27), which belongs to IL-12 family, influences the function of T cells (Tregs) through regulating the expression, and function of forkhead box P3 (FoxP3). In this study, we detected the IL-27 serum levels in 59 myasthenia gravis (MG) patients and 35 healthy controls (HCs). Among them, 32 MG patients received immunoglobulin intravenous (IVIG) injections (0.4 g/kg per day for 5 consecutive days). IL-27 levels were collected before and after the treatments and subjected to a comparative study. Finally, we assessed the correlations of IL-27 levels with the clinical characteristics of MG. As a result, serum IL-27 levels were significantly higher in MG patients than those in the HCs. Meanwhile, significant reduction was detected after the IVIG treatment. IL-27 levels positively correlated with both MG activities of daily living and quantitative MG score. IL-27 may participate in the pathogenesis of MG and can be used as an early marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of MG. In addition, IL-27 can be used as a target for MG treatment through the regulation of specific immune signaling and maintaining immune homeostasis.

[1]  S. Kaveri,et al.  Intravenous immunoglobulin mediates anti-inflammatory effects in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by inducing autophagy , 2020, Cell Death & Disease.

[2]  N. Hotte,et al.  Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) or IVIg‐treated macrophages reduce DSS‐induced colitis by inducing macrophage IL‐10 production , 2019, European journal of immunology.

[3]  Jue Hu,et al.  Transcriptional repressor Blimp1 regulates follicular regulatory T‐cell homeostasis and function , 2018, Immunology.

[4]  S. Kaveri,et al.  IVIG-mediated effector functions in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases , 2017, International immunology.

[5]  M. Nouri,et al.  Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment modulates peripheral blood Th17 and regulatory T cells in recurrent miscarriage patients: Non randomized, open-label clinical trial. , 2017, Immunology letters.

[6]  W. Baldwin,et al.  Treg-specific IL-27Rα deletion uncovers a key role for IL-27 in Treg function to control autoimmunity , 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[7]  W. Bruck,et al.  Increased interleukin-27 cytokine expression in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients , 2017, Journal of Neuroinflammation.

[8]  B. Prabhakar,et al.  Regulatory T cells in multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis , 2017, Journal of Neuroinflammation.

[9]  Lin-Jie Zhang,et al.  Analysis of serum interleukin-27 and interleukin-35 concentrations in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. , 2017, Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry.

[10]  S. Yadav,et al.  IL-27: a potential biomarker for responders to glatiramer acetate therapy , 2017, Journal of Neuroimmunology.

[11]  Jiayin Lu,et al.  Imbalance of circulating CD4+CXCR5+FOXP3+ Tfr-like cells and CD4+CXCR5+FOXP3− Tfh-like cells in myasthenia gravis , 2016, Neuroscience Letters.

[12]  S. Durum,et al.  Interleukin-27 as a Novel Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Critical Review of the Literature , 2016, Inflammatory bowel diseases.

[13]  J. Van Snick,et al.  Blockade of interleukin-27 signaling reduces GVHD in mice by augmenting Treg reconstitution and stabilizing Foxp3 expression. , 2015, Blood.

[14]  Rakeshchandra R. Meka,et al.  IL-27-induced modulation of autoimmunity and its therapeutic potential. , 2015, Autoimmunity reviews.

[15]  J. H. Lee,et al.  Serum interleukin-27 expression in patients with myasthenia gravis , 2015, Journal of Neuroimmunology.

[16]  W. Baldwin,et al.  An IL-27/Lag3 axis enhances Foxp3+ regulatory T cell suppressive function and therapeutic efficacy , 2015, Mucosal Immunology.

[17]  F. Bolgert,et al.  Intravenous immunoglobulin exerts reciprocal regulation of Th1/Th17 cells and regulatory T cells in Guillain–Barré syndrome patients , 2014, Immunologic Research.

[18]  Wei-Chiao Chang,et al.  IL-31 Associated with Coronary Artery Lesion Formation in Kawasaki Disease , 2014, PloS one.

[19]  Gisen Kim,et al.  A Novel Role for IL-27 in Mediating the Survival of Activated Mouse CD4 T Lymphocytes , 2013, The Journal of Immunology.

[20]  B. Prabhakar,et al.  Impaired regulatory function in circulating CD4(+)CD25(high)CD127(low/-) T cells in patients with myasthenia gravis. , 2012, Clinical immunology.

[21]  L. Xia,et al.  Increased levels of interleukin-27 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. , 2011, Arthritis and rheumatism.

[22]  L. Diehl,et al.  IL-27 promotes T cell–dependent colitis through multiple mechanisms , 2011, The Journal of experimental medicine.

[23]  A. Marx,et al.  The Autoimmune Regulator AIRE in Thymoma Biology: Autoimmunity and Beyond , 2010, Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

[24]  Huan Yang,et al.  [Expression of IL-21 in the peripheral blood of myasthenia gravis patients and its correlation with anti-AChR-Ab class switch]. , 2010, Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences.

[25]  L. Tam,et al.  Effects of inflammatory cytokine IL-27 on the activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis , 2010, Arthritis research & therapy.

[26]  Y. Shirakata,et al.  Possible roles of IL-27 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. , 2010, The Journal of investigative dermatology.

[27]  L. Stoltze,et al.  Prednisolone Treatment Induces Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells and a Regulatory Milieu in Myasthenia Gravis Patients1 , 2009, The Journal of Immunology.

[28]  E. Rendina,et al.  Expression of autoimmune regulator gene (AIRE) and T regulatory cells in human thymomas , 2007, Clinical and experimental immunology.

[29]  Katharina Fleischhauer,et al.  Interleukin‐10‐secreting type 1 regulatory T cells in rodents and humans , 2006, Immunological reviews.

[30]  E. Shevach,et al.  Activated CD4+CD25+ T cells selectively kill B lymphocytes. , 2006, Blood.

[31]  A. Saoudi,et al.  Functional defect of regulatory CD4(+)CD25+ T cells in the thymus of patients with autoimmune myasthenia gravis. , 2005, Blood.

[32]  D. Elmqvist.  Myasthenia Gravis , 1975, The Lancet.

[33]  B. Xiao,et al.  Serum IL-21 levels decrease with glucocorticoid treatment in myasthenia gravis , 2013, Neurological Sciences.