Increased plasma levels of CCL20 in peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients and its association with clinical and laboratory parameters

• Published in: Clinical rheumatology Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 265 - 270
• Main Authors: Pournazari, Mehran, Feizollahi, Parisa, Roghani, Seyed Askar, Assar, Shirin, Soufivand, Parviz, Soleymani, Bijan, Bahrehmand, Fariborz, Kish, Zahra Mohammadi, Taghadosi, Mahdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Autoantibodies; Autoimmune diseases; Biomarkers; CCL20 protein; Chemokine CCL20; Chemokines; Citrulline; Cytokines; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Inflammation; Joint diseases; Laboratories; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Pathogenesis; Patients; Peptides, Cyclic; Peripheral blood; Plasma; Plasma levels; Rheumatoid arthritis; Rheumatoid Factor; Rheumatology; DAS28; RF; Anti-CCP; CCL20; Rheumatoid arthritis; Chemokines
• DOI: 10.1007/s10067-021-05899-x
• ISSN: 0770-3198

Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects small joints. The impaired chemokine and cytokine responses are essential pathological mechanisms for the RA clinical presentation. Given the role of chemokines and inflammatory reactions in RA pathogenesis, we evaluate the association between the plasma concentration of CCL20 with the clinical and laboratory parameters in newly diagnosed RA patients. Material and methods Forty-five newly diagnosed RA patients and forty-five healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. The plasma levels of CCL20, rheumatoid factor, and anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Result The plasma levels of CCL20 were increased significantly in RA patients compared to the healthy controls ( p  < 0.0001). There was a positive correlation between CCL20 and RF, anti-CCP, ESR, and DAS-28 ( p  < 0.0001, r  = 0.669; p  < 0.015, r  = 0.358; p  < 0.0001, r  = 0.586; p  < 0.0001, r  = 0.769). Conclusion The increased plasma levels of CCL20 in newly diagnosed RA patients may contribute to RA pathogenesis, and it is in association with clinical and laboratory parameters. Key Points • CCL20 has a contribution to the early phase of RA.