Increased Serum Levels of IL-17A and IL-23 Are Associated with Decreased Vitamin D3 and Increased Pain in Osteoarthritis

• Published in: PloS one 2016-11, Vol.11 (11), p.e0164757-e0164757
• Main Authors: Askari, Alireza, Naghizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi, Homayounfar, Reza, Shahi, Abbas, Afsarian, Mohammad Hosein, Paknahad, Abbas, Kennedy, Derek, Ataollahi, Mohammad Reza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arthritis; Autoimmune diseases; Biocompatibility; Biology and Life Sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cholecalciferol - blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cytokines; Disease; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Etiology; Female; Helper cells; Humans; Immune response; Immunity; Inflammation; Innate immunity; Interleukin 21; Interleukin 23; Interleukin-17 - blood; Interleukin-23 - blood; Interleukins - blood; Kinases; Lymphocytes T; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis - blood; Osteoarthritis - complications; Pain; Pain - complications; Pathogenesis; Patients; Physical Sciences; Proteins; Rheumatism; Rheumatology; Serum levels; Statistical analysis; Studies; Systematic review; Vitamin D; Vitamin D3; Vitamin deficiency; Vitamins
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164757

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis and proinflammatory cytokines have been considered as the main etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of the disease. Serum levels of cytokines, that are associated with innate immunity and TH1 cells, have been analyzed in OA patients, however, there is limited research that profiles cytokines associated with Th17 cells and their relation to vitamin D3 and pain. The sera from 131 patients with OA and 262 healthy controls were evaluated for serum levels of IL-17A, IL-21, IL-23 and vitamin D3 using ELISA. Serum levels of IL-17A, and IL-23 were statistically higher in OA patients than in healthy controls, while IL-21 and vitamin D3 were significantly lower in OA patients when compared to controls. A significant positive correlation was found between the serum levels of IL-17A and IL-23 using WOMAC pain scores and vitamin D3 serum levels. The results suggest that IL-17A plays a significant role in OA pathogenesis and the induction of pain. Decreased serum levels of vitamin D3 may reflect a positive role played by the factor in the regulation of immune responses in OA patients.