Demonstration of interleukin 8 in serum samples of patients with localized scleroderma

Rheumatoid factor isotypes in localized scleroderma.

“…In this study, serum levels of all three isotypes from patients with GM were significantly higher than those from healthy subjects. This result is compatible with the fact that GM, the most severe of the three forms of localized morphea, is more likely to have immunological abnormalities than the other two forms, as described previously 2–12 . Moreover, we found that serum levels of IgM RF were correlated with the number of sclerotic lesions, which suggested that IgM RF could be used as a marker to determine the disease severity.…”

“…Localized scleroderma, especially GM, is considered to have an autoimmune basis in its pathogenetic background because it is often accompanied by various immunological abnormalities 2–12 . However, serum levels of RF isotypes in this disease have not been reported.…”

Serum Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor and Interleukin-13 Are Elevated in Patients with Localized Scleroderma

“…Since perivascular lymphocyte infiltration is one of the histologic characteristics of this disorder, upregulated chemokine or endothelial activation by TNF may contribute to the lesional lymphocyte infiltration and subsequent skin sclerosis in this disorder. In agreement with this observation, IL-8, a chemotactic factor for neutrophils and T lymphocytes, has been reported to be elevated in serum from patients with LSc [13]. Serum levels of soluble functional adhesion molecules shed by activated endothelial cells such as intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and E-selectin are also elevated in patients with LSc [15, 45].…”

Methotrexate and Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Localized Scleroderma: A Standardized Prospective Longitudinal Single-center Study

“…However, its exact mechanism in modifying LS disease is unclear, perhaps by interfering with cytokine expression. In both juvenile and adult rheumatoid arthritis, MTX has been shown to decrease levels of soluble interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptors and serum levels of IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8, supporting a possible mechanistic role in LS because these cytokines have been found to be elevated in LS 17,18,19,20,21,22 . Route of MTX administration determines its bioavailability, especially in higher doses (> 10 mg/m 2 /week), thus we uniformly use SC administration in our protocol to maximize MTX immunomodulatory effects needed to maintain LS remission 23 .…”