Jul 2026· Himalayan Journal of Applied Medical Sciences and Research· Vol 7, pp. 1-7· 0 citations
TL;DR
IL-17A, IL-23, CD4, and CD11b may serve as valuable diagnostic and predictive biomarkers in Behçet’s disease, and their interrelationship highlights their potential role in disease pathogenesis and progression.
Abstract
Behçet's disease is an uncommon multisystem inflammatory condition characterized by immune-mediated vasculitis affecting vessels of different calibers. Clinically, it presents with recurrent oral and genital ulcerations, dermatological manifestations, and ocular involvement, reflecting its systemic nature. The present study was designed to characterize gut microbial patterns in patients diagnosed with Behçet’s disease and to assess selected immune biomarkers — IL-17A, IL-23, CD4, and CD11b — as potential diagnostic and prognostic indicators. Participants were recruited from Al-Sadr Medical City between December 2024 and September 2025, with ages ranging from 11 to 51 years. Venous blood samples were obtained from patients, and serum concentrations of IL-17A, IL-23, CD4, and CD11b were quantified using the ELISA technique. The study population showed a predominance of male patients, with the highest frequency observed in the 22–31-year age group. Statistical analysis demonstrated significantly elevated serum levels of IL-17A and IL-23 in Behçet’s patients compared with healthy controls. Similarly, CD4 and CD11b expression levels were markedly increased. A strong positive correlation was identified among these immune markers, suggesting coordinated immunological activation. In conclusion, IL-17A, IL-23, CD4, and CD11b may serve as valuable diagnostic and predictive biomarkers in Behçet’s disease, and their interrelationship highlights their potential role in disease pathogenesis and progression.
Background: Entamoeba histolytica is the etiologic agent of amoebiasis, a prevalent parasitic disease and a major public health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. The severity of the disease depends on the parasite's virulence and the host's immune response. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a well-known immunoregulatory cytokine. IL-17 is a well-known pro-inflammatory cytokine. Therefore, their concurrent elevation during E. histolytica could be diagnostically useful and have important immunological implications. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 45 laboratory-confirmed patients diagnosed with E. histolytica infection and 45 healthy controls. Patients were classified into mild (n = 9), moderate (n = 10), and severe (n = 26) groups based on disease severity. The serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were measured by a quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Differences between severity groups were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's multiple range test. The diagnostic performance of both cytokines was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were markedly elevated in patients with E. histolytica infections compared to healthy controls. The cytokine levels gradually increased with the severity of the disease, and the highest levels were observed in patients with more severe clinical symptoms (P < 0.001). ROC curve analysis revealed excellent diagnostic performance for both cytokines: IL-10 showed remarkable discriminative ability (AUC = 0.995, sensitivity 95.5%, specificity 95.5%), and IL-17 showed excellent discriminative ability (AUC = 0.935, sensitivity 93.2%, specificity 82.6%). Conclusion: Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were significantly associated with disease severity and showed an excellent diagnostic performance in patients with E. histolytica infection. The simultaneous increase of these functionally distinct cytokines may reflect the simultaneous activation of inflammatory and immunoregulatory immune responses during acute amoebic infection. These findings indicate the possibility to use the two cytokines as additional immunological biomarkers for evaluation of disease severity and diagnostic assessment of amoebiasis. Further investigation into the biological significance of the co-elevated levels of both cytokines is required.
Ayat Hassan Ali, Esraa Fadhil Wadhah· Middle East Research Journal...· 0 citations
Objectives Increased susceptibility to infections is observed in patients with thymomas. These have been invariably attributed to Good syndrome with hypogammaglobulinemia, but there is noticeable heterogeneity in clinical presentation. We clinically and immunophenotypically characterized the infective susceptibilities encountered in these patients. Methods Of thymoma patients recruited from Singapore and South Korea, their infection types were correlated against immunological parameters, including IgG, IgM, IgA, CD19+ B cells, and CD4+ T cells, and the presence of neutralizing anti-cytokine autoantibodies using direct ELISA. Lymphocyte subset immunophenotyping was performed. Ascertainment of immune signaling pathway disruption was through serum switch experiments. Respective immune signal outputs were probed using Western blotting. Results A total of 15 thymoma patients (median age, 54 years; 13 men [87%]) were clustered into two groups with discernible differences in infective manifestations. In one group, nine patients (60%) had recurrent/severe viral or Pneumocystis jirovecii infections. These patients had low immunoglobulins and CD19+ B cells. The second group of six patients (40%) had difficult-to-treat non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) or invasive bacterial or fungal infections. They had normal immunoglobulins levels and possessed autoantibodies against interleukin (IL-)-12, IL--23, or interferon-alpha (IFN-α), which consisted of anti-IFN-α2 and anti-IFN-ω subtypes. The autoantibodies consisted of a heterogeneous spread across IgG1 to IgG4 subclasses. These anti-IL--12, anti-IL--23, and anti-IFN-α autoantibodies were neutralizing and compromised various phosphorylated-STAT signaling pathways that are critical in host anti-pathogen response. Conclusions The dichotomy of infective manifestations (viral/PJP versus NTM/invasive bacteria/fungal) underlies distinct and novel immune susceptibility beyond the classic Good syndrome label in thymoma patients, with implications for different approaches to clinical management.
Zhaohong Tan, Areum Shin, Rachel Ying Min Tan et al.· Frontiers in Immunology· 0 citations
Granulomatous-lymphocytic interstitial lung disease (GLILD) develops in 10–30% of patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) as a consequence of immune dysregulation. Therefore, immunoglobulin (Ig) M, produced by apoptosis-resistant plasmablasts in extrafollicular sites in the lungs, and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), shed by activated T lymphocytes, can both be elevated. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these biomarkers are associated with higher risk of GLILD development.
A retrospective single-center case-control study was conducted comparing CVID patients with GLILD (n = 9) and without GLILD (n = 13). Concentrations of IgM (normal/elevated normal vs. low/undetectable) were compared between the groups using Fisher’s exact test. Due to technical limitations, the concentration of sIL-2R was measured only in several patients.
No statistically significant association was found between GLILD and IgM concentration (normal/elevated normal vs. low/undetectable) (p = 0.66), although patients with normal/elevated normal IgM levels had twofold higher odds of having GLILD (odds ratio [OR] 2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36–11.2). The wide CI suggests the main limitation of our study: the small sample size (22 CVID patients in total). Preliminary data also showed that sIL-2R concentrations were significantly elevated in patients with GLILD (mean 1,059 IU/mL, normal <350 IU/mL).
Even though statistical significance was not shown, the results illustrate that elevated IgM levels may be associated with an increased risk of GLILD, suggesting a potential role for IgM in disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, higher sIL-2R levels reinforce the concept of immune dysregulation as a key feature of this CVID phenotype. Larger, multicenter studies with greater sample sizes are needed to clarify this potential association. If confirmed, longitudinal monitoring of these biomarkers could contribute to the earlier identification of CVID patients at higher risk of developing GLILD.
Aleksandra Dašić, Rada Mišković, S. Janković et al.· Journal of Human Immunity· 0 citations
BACKGROUND
Cutaneous verrucae (warts) are benign epidermal proliferations caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The host immune response particularly T helper 17 (Th17) related cytokines such as interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and interleukin-23 (IL-23) plays a critical role in the regulation of viral control and inflammatory responses. However, the systemic levels of these cytokines in patients with verrucae have not been sufficiently characterized.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate serum IL-17A and IL-23 levels in patients with cutaneous verrucae, to compare them with those of healthy controls, and to evaluate their associations with age, sex, number of lesions, disease duration, and lesion localization.
METHODS
In this case-control study, 49 patients with palmoplantar or anogenital verrucae and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Serum IL-17A and IL-23 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Continuous variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and categorical variables using the chi-square test. Correlations between variables were assessed using Spearman correlation analysis.
RESULTS
The median serum IL-23 level was 11.8 pg/mL (interquartile range, IQR: 7.8-21.3) in patients with cutaneous verrucae and 8.8 pg/mL (IQR: 7.2-12.0) in controls, with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.018). The median serum IL-17A level was 16.6 pg/mL (IQR: 8.7-37.9) in patients and 16.4 pg/mL (IQR: 10.9-24.5) in controls, with no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.755). A strong positive correlation was observed between IL-17A and IL-23 levels in patients (rs = 0.880, p < 0.001). No significant associations were found between cytokine levels and age, sex, number of lesions, disease duration, or localization.
CONCLUSION
Elevated IL-23 levels and its strong positive correlation with IL-17A suggest that the IL-23/IL-17Axis may play a role in immune activation associated with HPV-related cutaneous verrucae. IL-23 may represent a potential indicator of immune activation associated with cutaneous verrucae; however, its standalone diagnostic utility appears limited. Future studies with larger cohorts and tissue-level analyses are needed to further elucidate the role of Th17-related cytokines in the pathogenesis of verrucae.
Harun Yildirim, S. Ozturk, Hakan Ayyıldız et al.· Cytokine· 0 citations
A divergent regulation of CD29 and CD49b integrins associated with HLA-B27 status in Iraqi AS patients is suggested and longitudinal validation is required to confirm their clinical utility as diagnostic or therapeutic targets.
Ahmed Ali Alshammari, M. Mohsin· Iranian Journal of Pathology· 0 citations
ackground: Cystic echinococcosis (CE), which develops following infection with the larval stage of the dog tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, is a chronic neglected zoonotic disease that represents a major public health concern worldwide. Host-parasite interactions paradigm is based on the cytokines regulation finely modulating immune polarization between survival and clearance. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to assess serum IL-33 and IL-35 levels of in Cystic echinococcosis (CE) patients and to analyze their precise relations to the patient's age, cyst burden (size and number), and (IgE, CRP and ESR) markers. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was performed that included a total of 75 participants (45 CE patients and 30 age- and sex - matched healthy controls). Samples were collected from patients at Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital, Al-Hakeem General Hospital, and Al-Furat Al-Awsat Hospital, in Najaf Governorate, Iraq between September 2025 and February 2026. The age of the participating cohort varied between 18-65 years. Serum IL-33, IL-35, and total IgE levels were measured by specific commercial ELISA kits, whereas C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured by conventional semi-quantitative latex agglutination and Westergren methods, respectively. Performance in diagnosis was determined using the curve analysis of ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic). Results: Serum IL-33 level, as well as total IgE, CRP and ESR were significantly higher in the CE patients than in the healthy controls. In contrast, circulating IL-35 was markedly and significantly decreased
in the patients. Analysis of age groups did not indicate any significant effect on cytokine expressions. On the other hand, higher IL-33 and lower IL-35 levels were significantly related to advanced disease (multiple and large sized cysts). Strong Pearson correlations were found between these interleukins and the inflammatory markers under investigation. ROC curves confirmed high diagnostic accuracy for both cytokines. Conclusion: The increase in levels of IL-33 in the clinical setting Elevated IL-33 and reduced IL-35 levels were associated with cystic echinococcosis and greater disease severity, facilitating a prevailing Th2 bias, while the profound deficiency of IL-35 signifies the collapse of compensatory suppressive mechanisms, enabling parasite persistence and progressive inflammatory severity. Both cytokines showed promising diagnostic performance.
Sahira Ayyed Al-musawi· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
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