Clinical implications of elevated serum interleukin-6 in IgG4-related disease

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 1; p. e0227479
• Main Authors: Tsukuda, Satoshi, Ikeura, Tsukasa, Ito, Takashi, Nakamaru, Koh, Masuda, Masataka, Hori, Yuichi, Ikemune, Manami, Yanagawa, Masato, Tanaka, Toshihiro, Tomiyama, Takashi, Yamaguchi, Takashi, Ando, Yugo, Uchida, Kazushige, Fukui, Toshiro, Nishio, Akiyoshi, Terasawa, Rika, Tanigawa, Noboru, Okazaki, Kazuichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17.01.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Albumin; Albumins; Aspartate; Aspartate aminotransferase; Aspartate Aminotransferases - blood; Bile Duct Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Bile Duct Diseases - pathology; Bile ducts; Biliary tract; Biology and Life Sciences; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; Cytokines; Databases, Factual; Female; Gastroenterology; Glycosylated hemoglobin; Hemoglobin; Hemoglobins; Hemoglobins - analysis; Hepatology; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease - pathology; Inflammation; Interleukin 6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Interleukins; Internal medicine; Laboratories; Liver; Liver Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Liver Diseases - pathology; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Patients; Serum Albumin - analysis; Spleen; Splenomegaly; Splenomegaly - diagnosis; Steroids; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Japan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227479

Some patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) exhibit elevated serum interleukin (IL)-6 with excessive inflammatory reactions or with repeating relapse. To date few reports pertaining to clinical implications of elevated serum IL-6 in IgG4-RD patients have been published. The aims of the current retrospective study were to investigate the clinical implications of elevated serum IL-6 in IgG4-RD patients, and to examine whether IL-6 can predict the activity and/or relapse of the disease. We examined the clinical picture at the onset of 43 patients who were diagnosed with IgG4-RD in our hospital and were able to measure serum IL-6 before steroid treatment. The median level of serum IL-6 was 2.2 pg/mL. There was a significant correlation between IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) level (r = 0.397, p = 0.008), hemoglobin level (r = -0.390, p = 0.010) and albumin level (r = -0.556, p < 0.001). When 43 patients were divided into two groups by using a cut-off IL-6 of 4 pg/mL, the high IL-6 group showed higher age, lower albumin, higher CRP and higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (age p = 0.014, albumin p = 0.006, CRP p <0.001, AST p = 0.009). Hepatic swelling and splenomegaly were significantly more prevalent in the high IL-6 group than it was in the low IL-6 group (liver p < 0.001, spleen p = 0.020). Biliary tract involvement tended to admit more in the high IL-6 group (p = 0.060). Serum IL-6 level at the onset of IgG4-RD may be significantly correlated with clinical inflammatory parameters and it may also be associated with involvement of the bile duct, liver, and spleen.